Softline connects Southwestern State University to Microsoft digital tools

2021: Microsoft Teams Implementation

On September 23, 2021, Softline announced that it had helped Southwest State University (USSU) implement the Microsoft Teams platform. The university plans to use Microsoft solutions for educational purposes in the academic year.

The university introduced the MS Teams platform as an alternative to Zoom and Skype. Softline was a consultant to this project, offering to take advantage of a free offer from Microsoft for educational organizations and implement the platform.

The project took place remotely to ensure maximum security as part of the pandemic, so consultations and implementation also took place using Microsoft Teams. Management and users were trained, the main settings of the account and workspace were made. A test group was also created inside Teams, it tested the main services in which the university has an interest in working. These are videoconferences, calls, calendar and schedule. After consulting, the customer was able to set up the scenarios he needed with the support of Softline IT consultant.

{{quote 'After the pandemic began to organize distance learning, USSU gave priority to such free products as Zoom, Skype and others. After the year, we realized that we should not expect a full return to offline in the near future, and online education will gain a foothold for a long time. It was decided to create opportunities for distance learning on an ongoing basis. In this regard, SUSU drew attention to corporate platforms that have great functionality and security.

Softline, as a service partner, communicated information about the solution available to all educational institutions - the academic platform Microsoft 365, the main components of which are free for teachers and students. The consulting work of Softline helped us understand that the Microsoft University online services can be used now, as well as how to implement them. So we were able to move to a safer and more functional platform, "said Alexey Pykhtin, vice-rector for digital transformation at Southwestern State University.}}

The university also noted the potential for further implementation of Teams. For example, to replace the current chat and call system integration messengers , on a single platform.

{{quote 'With Teams, you can create a single interaction window within your organization, combining chats, calls, calendar, schedule, and access to remote education resources. This is the main scenario of digitalization, what all universities are going to.

This project is a good milestone for the future. This shows the university's desire to move from "consumer" products designed for personal use to more professional, corporate tools that have better characteristics and greater capabilities, "said Sergey Sapozhkov, IT consultant at Softline Business Consulting Department.}}