Businesses move faster every single day. Teams are under pressure to keep up, but instead of focusing on the work that really matters, employees often end up drowning in the very tools that were supposed to make life easier.
Think about it. How many times a day do you find yourself jumping between apps, hunting for a piece of data, copying something over, or just trying to remember where you left off? It’s exhausting, and it’s one of the biggest hidden drains on productivity.
The Hidden Cost of App Switching
Harvard Business Review highlighted this issue in an article called How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications? They put numbers to something we all feel: the constant swivel-chair motion between apps.
On average, employees switch between different applications 1,200 times a day. That adds up to about four hours a week just reorienting after switching, which is basically five entire weeks every year. Nearly 9% of work time lost to nothing more than context switching. That’s five weeks you don’t get back.
The Smarter Way: Connect Business Systems and Productivity Tools
The way forward is simple, stop forcing employees to be the glue between disconnected apps. When business systems talk directly to productivity tools, people can finally focus on the work instead of the busy work.
This is where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft 365 come together. By connecting Business Central with everyday apps like Excel, Outlook, and Teams, employees get real-time information, collaboration becomes natural, and decisions happen faster, all without bouncing between windows or tools.
And when that connected foundation is in place, AI and Microsoft Copilot can step in to provide insights, automate tasks, and guide workflows right inside the tools employees already use.
Collaborating Better with Business Central + Teams
One of the biggest pain points in modern work is fragmented communication. Teams end up siloed, and data gets trapped in places where others can’t easily reach it. With Teams connected to Business Central, you remove those barriers and turn Teams into the true hub of daily operations.
Here’s how it helps:
- Data becomes collaborative. Share real-time Business Central data directly in Teams chats or channels, so everyone stays on the same page.
- Work where you’re comfortable. Share data from Business Central into Teams to start discussions, or view and edit that same data directly in Teams without jumping back and forth.
- Department-wide access. Even if someone doesn’t have a Business Central license, they can still get read-only access to data in Teams at no extra cost with their Microsoft 365 license.
Getting More Done with Business Central + Excel
Finance and operations teams practically live in Excel, and for good reason, it’s flexible, powerful, and familiar. By connecting Excel with Business Central, those teams can keep working on the tool they love, while pulling in the data they need.
Some of the big benefits:
- Cut down repetitive tasks. Export data from Business Central to Excel, make updates in bulk, and push it all back in with just a few clicks. • Turn numbers into insights. Use pivot tables, charts, and custom layouts in Excel to analyze data pulled directly from Business Central.
- Collaborate with ease. Budgeting, forecasting, and planning are easier when teams can co-author Excel docs together and then publish final results back into Business Central.
Making Every Inbox Smarter with Business Central + Outlook
Customer and vendor relationships are at the heart of every business. Outlook is where so many of those relationships are managed, and by bringing Business Central data into Outlook, employees can get the full picture without leaving their inbox.
That means they can:
- See what matters instantly. Get real-time details on customers and vendors, sales history, purchase info, and more, directly from Outlook.
- Work without breaking flow. Send invoices, order confirmations, or reminders using templates from Business Central connected to a shared mailbox.
- Go from quote to cash, fast. Set up new records, create quotes, and submit invoices without ever leaving Outlook.
The Future of Work: Connected and AI-Ready
When Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft 365 are connected, work simply flows better. Employees no longer waste hours switching apps. Instead, data comes straight into the tools they already know, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
And with Microsoft Copilot, those same tools have become even more powerful. Copilot helps draft content, summarize meetings, follow up on emails, and answer questions, all right where people are working.
At Integrato, we see this as the future of work: connected systems, real-time data, and AI-driven support that lets employees focus on what matters most, delivering real business impact.
Want to learn more about connecting your data with Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft 365? We’d love to help you get started.
Source:
Harvard Business Review, How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications, 2022