Viva Connections: Unlock Card Personalization for Every User

Key insights

• Card Personalization in Viva Connections lets users customize their dashboard by adding, rearranging, hiding, or showing different cards to match their preferences.


• The Quick Links card is a new feature that allows users to create collections of links to frequently used files, apps, and sites for easier access.


• This personalization works on both desktop and mobile devices, ensuring a consistent experience across platforms.


• User Control has improved—end users can now directly manage the layout and content of their dashboards instead of relying only on administrators.


• The update focuses on an enhanced user experience, giving employees flexibility to prioritize tools and information most relevant to them, which helps boost productivity.


• Future roadmap: Microsoft plans further integration with SharePoint and development of new cards and features to expand customization options in Viva Connections.

Introduction: Microsoft Unveils Card Personalization in Viva Connections

Microsoft has introduced a significant update to its Viva Connections platform, aiming to redefine how employees interact with their digital workspaces. The latest feature, card personalization, empowers end users to adjust and configure their dashboards according to individual preferences. As organizations increasingly seek ways to enhance employee engagement and streamline internal communications, this tool stands out as a pivotal development. In a recent you_tube_video presentation, Microsoft experts Nancy Handa and Vesa Juvonen demonstrated the new capability, discussed its immediate impact, and outlined the future roadmap for Viva Connections. This article will explore the main aspects of card personalization, its advantages, the technology behind it, and the tradeoffs involved in balancing customization with organizational consistency.

Empowering Users: The Core of Card Personalization

The introduction of card personalization marks a strategic shift towards user-centric design within enterprise platforms. Traditionally, dashboard configurations in intranet solutions have been controlled by administrators, limiting employees’ ability to tailor their experience. Now, with this new feature, users can actively shape their Viva Connections dashboard—adding, removing, or rearranging cards to better fit their workflow. This development brings several notable benefits. Firstly, it enhances the overall user experience by allowing employees to prioritize the information and tools most relevant to them. For example, a marketing specialist might choose to highlight news feeds and campaign trackers, while a developer may opt for quick access to project repositories and technical documentation. This flexibility not only boosts productivity but also increases engagement, as users feel more invested in a workspace that reflects their unique needs. Moreover, the platform’s design ensures that changes made on one device are seamlessly reflected across all others. Whether an employee accesses Viva Connections from a desktop at the office or a mobile device on the go, the personalized dashboard remains consistent. Such cross-device uniformity removes friction, allowing for a smooth and reliable experience regardless of where or how users connect. However, empowering users with such control also introduces challenges. Organizations must consider how much autonomy to grant individuals without compromising the integrity and objectives of wider corporate communications. Striking this balance is crucial to ensuring both personalization and alignment with organizational goals.

The Technology Behind Personalization: Simplicity Meets Sophistication

At the heart of the new feature is an intuitive interface that prioritizes ease of use. To personalize their dashboard, users simply click the Customize button situated above the dashboard cards. From there, they can add new elements such as the Quick Links card, which enables the creation of custom collections of frequently accessed files, applications, and sites. The drag-and-drop functionality makes rearranging cards straightforward, while the option to hide or unhide cards allows users to declutter their workspace according to shifting priorities. If a user wishes to revert their dashboard to its original configuration, a reset option is readily available. This attention to user-friendly design ensures that employees of varying technical proficiency can take full advantage of the feature without extensive training or support. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the personalization process belies the complexity of the underlying technology. Ensuring that user preferences persist across devices requires robust synchronization and security protocols. Additionally, as organizations deploy Viva Connections at scale, IT departments must be prepared to support a wide range of personalized configurations without sacrificing system performance or stability.

Balancing Customization and Organizational Consistency

While personalization offers clear productivity and engagement benefits, it also raises important questions about consistency and governance. For many organizations, the company intranet serves as a vital channel for disseminating critical information, enforcing compliance, and fostering a shared sense of culture and purpose. Allowing users to hide or rearrange certain cards could inadvertently lead to missed announcements or fragmented communications. To address these concerns, Microsoft’s approach maintains a degree of administrative oversight. Certain cards—such as mandatory corporate updates or compliance reminders—can be designated as non-removable, ensuring that essential content remains visible to all employees. This hybrid model enables organizations to provide a personalized experience while retaining control over key messaging. However, implementing such a system is not without tradeoffs. Too much restriction can undermine the core value of personalization, making the platform feel rigid and impersonal. Conversely, excessive freedom could compromise the organization’s ability to deliver consistent and timely information. Therefore, organizations must carefully calibrate their policies to achieve the right balance, taking into account their unique culture, structure, and objectives.

Looking Ahead: The Roadmap for Viva Connections

Microsoft’s investment in card personalization is part of a broader vision for the future of digital employee experience. During the video presentation, the presenters highlighted ongoing development efforts aimed at deepening integration with other Microsoft 365 services, particularly SharePoint. This will likely open the door to an even greater variety of customizable cards and interactive elements, further enhancing the platform’s versatility. Feedback from early adopters will play a crucial role in shaping the next phase of innovation. Microsoft has expressed a strong interest in hearing from users about their experiences with card personalization, signaling a commitment to continuous improvement based on real-world needs. There are also technical challenges on the horizon. As new features are added and more integrations become available, maintaining the platform’s performance and security will require ongoing vigilance. Additionally, as organizations adopt more flexible work arrangements, the importance of a robust, adaptable digital workspace will only increase.

Conclusion: A Step Forward for Digital Workspaces

In summary, Microsoft’s introduction of card personalization in Viva Connections represents a meaningful advance in the evolution of digital workspaces. By giving users the power to shape their own dashboards, the platform fosters greater engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. At the same time, the feature is thoughtfully designed to preserve essential organizational controls, ensuring that critical information remains accessible. The journey toward a more personalized and effective digital workspace is ongoing, and Microsoft’s approach demonstrates a keen awareness of the tradeoffs and challenges involved. As feedback from users continues to inform development, Viva Connections is poised to become an even more integral part of the modern employee experience, blending the best of customization and consistency for organizations of all sizes.

Keywords

card personalization Viva Connections end users introduction Microsoft Viva card customization user experience digital workplace employee engagement internal communication