Shufflrr for Office 365: Conversation with James Ontra

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    James Ontra is the CEO of Shufflrr and a trailblazer in the emerging field of Presentation Management, helping companies save millions by transforming presentations into profitable assets. An early entrepreneur in college, James combined business with academics and was recognized with Houston’s Small Business Administration’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

His vision and strategy have been driving Presentation Management to become a recognized communication discipline. James combined this passion with technical development to build Shufflrr.

In this conversation, James talks about the new Shufflrr for Office 365 add-in for PowerPoint.

Geetesh: Your Shufflrr for Office 365 add-in integrates with multiple cloud storage solutions and third-party content providers like Getty Images. How did you approach the challenge of introducing new functionality without disrupting the user’s existing experience?

James: We designed the Shufflrr for Office 365 add-in to enhance—not disrupt—the PowerPoint user experience.

Traditionally, when users need to add images, tables or even entire slides from other PowerPoints, the user has to leave PowerPoint, search in multiple locations, and copy/paste the content. Shufflrr makes that part easy.

With Shufflrr for Office, users can access files from OneDrive, SharePoint, and soon Google Drive and Canva, and even pull licensed images from GettyImages—all without ever leaving their presentation. This keeps you on point, on message, and ensures a smoother, more productive presentation experience.

Geetesh: Many organizations struggle to get employees to adopt new productivity tools, especially when they extend an already familiar application like PowerPoint. What specific strategies did your team implement to ensure widespread adoption of the Shufflrr for Office 365 add-in?

James: We focused on three key aspects to drive adoption – Efficiency, Automation & Microsoft AppSource

1. Efficiency

Get all your files, from all your drives – OneDrive, SharePoint, Shufflrr and, coming soon, Google and Canva, right inside PowerPoint. You never leave your workspace.

2. Automation

Shufflrr not only makes content easier, but also integrates data from sources like Microsoft Dynamics 365, allowing users to update presentations dynamically. This automation saves significant time—when 100 people each save 30 minutes updating a presentation, the value is clear. Large sales teams, in particular, quickly see the benefit of reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.

3. Microsoft App Source

Adoption is easier when there’s no friction. Users and enterprises can get it directly from Microsoft AppSource, with free connections to their OneDrive, SharePoint, (coming soon) Google and Canva. They can find it right from the Add-ins button on their PowerPoint Ribbon. It is a natural extension of their PowerPoint workflow. By keeping the experience within PowerPoint, streamlining updates through AppSource, and minimizing onboarding friction, we’ve made Shufflrr a tool that organizations adopt quickly, deploy easily and make PowerPoint more efficient.

Geetesh: How can I sign up and use the add-in? Is there a trial version available?

James: Shufflrr for Office 365 is available on Microsoft AppSource and can be installed directly from PowerPoint’s navigation ribbon “Get Add-ins” menu. Simply search for Shufflrr, install it, and connect it to OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, or Canva.

• Basic functionality, including content access, is free for individual users.
• Advanced data features (e.g. enterprise accounts, MS Dynamic updates from CRM systems or accessing other data) require a monthly subscription after a 30-day free trial, starting at $10 per month.
• Getty Images stock photo licenses and Getty Images AI imagery have costs associated.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.