Why adopt M365 Copilot Now?

Let’s start by addressing some common objections — I know the title of this article has already raised an eyebrow. It’s easy to be critical of Microsoft, the leading business software provider worldwide. The fact is, most organizations rely on Microsoft products or cloud services in some capacity every day. I’ll explain why waiting doesn’t make sense and why adopting Copilot now is the smartest move.

ChatGPT and Gemini are better! Maybe, in certain ways. It's true that OpenAI and Google back their products with impressive innovation and investment. But the real question is: how exactly are you comparing them? What evaluation criteria did you use? What’s your specific need or goal? As economist and social theorist Thomas Sowell noted:

“There are no solutions—there are only trade-offs”

Isn’t Copilot just “racing to the middle” like everyone else? Maybe it is, but why not take advantage of the immediate productivity boosts Copilot offers while you continue to develop more strategic and unique solutions for your organization?

Copilot is expensive! It's common to debate cost versus benefit when considering any IT investment, and Copilot is no exception. At first glance, the price of M365 Copilot might seem high compared to your current Microsoft 365 plan. However, when you compare it to most industry-specific solutions, Copilot is actually quite affordable. But what does "cost" really mean? Consider not just the price tag, but also the potential costs of integrating alternative tools or, even more importantly, the risks and expenses that could result from a data breach if sensitive information leaves your Microsoft environment.

I heard that deploying Copilot to my tenant is risky. Deploying Copilot does come with some challenges and potential risks. However, it's important to weigh these against the risks of doing nothing. If your users are already using consumer AI tools on their own, that could expose your organization to even greater risks than a carefully managed Copilot rollout within your Microsoft environment.

Placid Works is here to help and is aligned to our values, to take an incremental and measured approach. We believe Copilot is:

• Relatively easy to implement with a high potential ROI

• Relatively cheap when compared to the alternatives

• Relatively low risk when basic security and governance is applied

In addition, here are some key differentiators for M365 Copilot:

• Deep Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem

  Copilot is embedded across Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint) and services like SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive. This means it doesn’t just chat—it actively helps you create, analyze, and automate within tools you already use.

• Enterprise-Grade Security & Compliance

  Unlike many consumer-focused AI tools, Copilot is built on Microsoft’s responsible AI principles and leverages Microsoft Entra ID, compliance frameworks, and data governance. Your data stays secure and private, which is critical for businesses.

• Context-Aware Assistance

  Copilot uses your organizational context—documents, emails, calendars, and chats—to provide personalized, relevant answers. It’s not just generic AI; it understands your work environment.

• Multi-Modal Capabilities

  It supports text, images, and code, and integrates with Power Platform for automation. Plus, it can connect to external data sources via Graph connectors, making it highly versatile.

• Continuous Innovation

  Microsoft invests heavily in AI research and partnerships (e.g., OpenAI), ensuring Copilot benefits from cutting-edge models like GPT-4 and beyond, optimized for productivity and enterprise use.

M365 Copilot compared to alternative AI chat.