Get more from what you already pay for
Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of businesses across the world using Microsoft 365? According to 2024 Microsoft 365 usage data, the platform holds about 47.9% market share in office productivity suites, and for good reason. Microsoft 365 is a reliable, scalable platform that grows with your business, and enterprise licences often come with a wealth of tools that go untapped.
Plenty of organisations already put those tools to good use with SharePoint. Instead of buying separate intranet software, they build their intranet on a platform they already pay for.
It works: SWOOP Analytics’ benchmarking of more than 177,000 employees found that 86% visited their SharePoint intranet over a three-month period.
However, that same research found that real engagement comes from interaction, not just reading content. This is where many businesses miss a trick. Few realise that Viva Engage, can turn a one-way intranet into a two-way conversation.
Already paying for it? Put it to work.
Using Viva Engage alongside your SharePoint intranet is one of the most economical ways to strengthen employee connection. For many organisations, it costs nothing extra.
Core Viva Engage functionality is included in many Microsoft 365 licences, the same licences that give you SharePoint. Yet many companies pay for both and only use one. Their intranet does the publishing, while conversation happens in scattered email chains and private chats, or doesn’t happen at all.
We've seen this first-hand. Brave & Heart is a trusted partner to a global organisation and have managed their SharePoint-based, global intranet for more than 100,000 employees for almost a decade.
Their existing Microsoft 365 licences already included Viva Engage, so when they wanted better two-way communication, there was no need for them to incur additional costs for a new platform when we could optimise their existing platform.
Adding conversation doesn't take attention away from your intranet. It brings people back to it.
SWOOP Analytics' 2026/27 Viva Engage benchmark covered 71 organisations and more than 2.6 million employees. It compared organisations using SharePoint alone with those using SharePoint and Viva Engage together, as seen to the right.
Organisations with more Viva Engage activity also showed more frequent intranet visits.
The two channels do different jobs: the intranet is the authoritative content layer, and Viva Engage is the conversational layer. Employees move between them as one journey.
What our own work shows.
When we started, our client's Viva Engage had grown informally, with no rollout plan or governance. Now, 6 months after our intervention, we have overhauled the platform as seen to the left.
Viva Engage by design, not by default
The key to a thriving Viva Engage platform is planning. Though it's designed for informal connection, without clear governance it quickly becomes a hotbed of 'cowboy communities' and abandoned groups.
Too often, Viva Engage is switched on by default and left to grow unchecked. That brings real risks: no moderation, unclear ownership, unchecked admin access and hundreds of empty communities, all of which can expose an organisation to legal, compliance and reputational harm. When employees can't tell what's official, they lose trust, and the platform loses its value.
Our approach: proven at global scale
We applied this approach for a global organisation with a workforce spread across regions, time zones and functions. But the principles behind it adapt to organisations of any size or shape, from multinational enterprises to growing businesses with a single site.
We started with the full picture. We assessed how the platform was really being used and where the risks and opportunities lay, and we listened to employees across the organisation, not just the most active voices.
We shaped a strategy around their goals. Our findings became a clear, prioritised roadmap, built on the licences they already had and measured against outcomes that mattered to the business.
We delivered it together, and kept improving. Working alongside their teams, we brought structure and governance to the platform, re-energised its flagship community and connected it with their wider communications. Regular reporting meant every decision was guided by real data.
What our results show
For our global client, good governance didn't hold engagement back. It created the conditions for it to grow.
A flagship community brought back to life. The All Company community went from dormant to 2 million views, reaching 40,000 people across the organisation.
Communities that launch with purpose. A clear request process means every new community now starts with a defined purpose, a named owner and a usage check after 30 to 60 days, so the platform stays focused as it grows.
Insight that guides what comes next. Live reporting showed reach growing faster than conversation, a pattern the wider benchmark confirms. We're now using that insight to turn viewers into participants, through shorter posts, earlier calls to action, regular polls and more replies to the people who comment.
Looking ahead: one connected digital workplace
If your organisation runs on Microsoft 365, the tools for a connected, engaged workforce are probably already in your licence. SharePoint gives your people a trusted source of information, and Viva Engage gives them a voice.
With the right strategy and governance behind them, they work together to lift engagement without adding to your costs. Brave & Heart can help you get there. Get in touch to find out how much more you could get from what you already pay for.