Microsoft Outlook has recently gone through some major updates and renovations. The purpose of all the massive changes to this oft-used communications tool is simple: to improve user experience and make this a streamlined and easy-to-navigate communications hub.

Microsoft’s Office 365 platform isn’t one of the most popular productivity suites in the world by luck. The company’s expertise in creating functional, innovative and easy-to-use business applications has won over thousands of users for decades even before the cloud.

Theoretically, scheduling meetings should be virtually hassle-free. But in reality, simply agreeing on a mutually compatible time is often an impossible task. On top of hectic schedules, you have different departments that have their own time constraints.

Have you ever wondered how sales teams spend their time each week? According to Salesforce, on any given weekday an average sales representative spends more than 70 percent of their time managing emails. Since they are spending more than half of their working lives in their inbox, wouldn’t it be ideal if their customer relationship management software can be integrated into it? A newly released add-on called Lightning for Outlook may just be the answer.

Recently, Microsoft announced a new feature in Office 365 Groups called Connectors. As part of their new openness mantra, Office 365 Connectors allows you to connect with popular third party services without ever having to leave your Outlook client. This means relevant content and updates that you want are sent immediately to your group feed, making workflow more seamless.

Microsoft Office might be boring to some people, but those users probably haven’t explored the exciting world of add-ins. Utilizing these cool features, which work inside your favorite Office application, can help change your experience for the better.