Learn how the MessageOps Team works remotely with Microsoft Office Products

A Day in the Life of MessageOps Marketing Coordinator Katie Ackerman:  Check out how to work remotely with Microsoft Office Products.

We spend a lot of time at MessageOps talking about the benefits of Microsoft Office 365.  We work hard to keep our community informed of the latest and greatest updates from Microsoft, plus we are constantly developing new tools and resources that help our clients be more productive and ultimately make more money with Office 365.

We wanted to introduce you to one of our important team members who helps make all of this happen.  Plus, we’ll also share some insight on how the MessageOps team uses Office 365 and the MessageOps products. Meet the lovely and talented Katie Ackerman, our Marketing Coordinator extraordinaire. She’ll share what a typical day is like for her at MessageOps.

Tell us a little bit about your position with the company?

As the Marketing Coordinator for MessageOps, I deal mainly with the cloud portion of the business, so I do everything pertaining to Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. I am also responsible for making sure all our messaging is consistent to our brand.

How long have you been with the company now?

I’ve been at MessageOps for a fast and furious year. One thing is for sure in the MessageOps environment, you never get bored.  It’s a fast pace and time flies. We are always working on exciting initiatives.

How does your work day begin?

I work remotely from Boston. I start at 8:30 am, and the first thing I do is catch up on emails that have accumulated over the night. Then, I have a team meeting every morning at 9:00 am with Chris Pyle, the CEO, Stacy Mancinelli, my Marketing Manager, and Lisa Cuthbertson, our Sales Manager, where we talk about key priorities for the day. We use Microsoft Lync because everyone is usually in different places, but it’s like we are all together thanks to the ability to have video calls. It makes me feel very connected to the team even though I’m remote.

What happens after your morning meeting?

I have key projects that I am either spearheading or supporting with the rest of the team so I spend the majority of my day moving our projects forward. This includes: creating presentations, updating website content, creating communications to our customers, and additional meetings. We use OneDrive and Groups, so I can do all of my work online there. Being able to access all of our group files over the internet through OWA is great because it really allows me to work from anywhere and on any device. I upload different updates a few times a week to the team folders so that everyone can review them. I create a lot of PowerPoint presentations for the MessageOps staff to use as presentations at different conferences or for meetings. I can also do that online through OWA.

What is your favorite Microsoft tool?

I would say OWA is my favorite as it makes it really easy to collaborate with my team while working remotely. I don’t even need my computer if I have to leave the office a little bit early; I can easily access my email from Office 365 on my phone, or still recieve Lync messages from people over my phone. I am pretty much able to stay connected all the time, because the apps are available on my phone.

Do you have any shortcuts that you like to use on OWA, right now, that maybe people don’t know and are pretty useful for you?

Hmm…well, I just started using a new product by MessageOps called My365 which has helped me work with Outlook much more effectively. I didn’t realize how many features I wasn’t taking advantage of! Setting up my email with my personalized signature and creating fun email themes was so easy.

I’ve also been learning a lot of tips on various Office 365 products because I’m responsible for our MessageOps YouTube Video channel where we post quick lessons on various products like OneNote, Azure, Outlook and OWA.

Fun fact: what is your favorite meal, and what is one of your favorite places?

Well, I never had a lobster roll before I moved up to New England, the place to be if you want the best and freshest lobster roll. I’ve been to Atlantic Fish Co. in Boston several times and it’s always amazing. Ask me again next year and maybe I’ll be sick of them, but I don’t think so.

Given the cold winter I just endured, I would have to say my favorite location is Delray Beach in South Florida. Atlantic Avenue has a ton of new restaurants and shops and it’s right on the beach. It is just beautiful.

Thanks to Katie for the inside scoop on how you work remotely with Microsoft Office Products.