Ever lost your emails or experienced a corrupted .pst file? For most long-term users of on-premise emails, this is a reality which occasionally bites – and it always leaves nasty scars. With a move to Office 365, you’re likely to never face the problem again. But let’s start at the start.
What is Office 365 and why should I care?
It’s all in the name: access all your Microsoft Office applications from anywhere, with any device, anytime you want. Office 365 is Microsoft in the cloud: install apps on your computer, smartphone and tablet, log in and enjoy access all your files which are synchronised via OneDrive (Microsoft’s cloud storage service). Work on your files on any device, too – you can even edit Word and Excel documents on your mobiles.
But what about email?
That’s one of the real joys of Office 365: Outlook on every device. That means the same familiar Outlook interface across smartphones and tablets. Centralised email handling means having all your email, all the time, whether in the office or on the go. With the Office 365 for Business option, Outlook data is stored in the cloud on servers which are far more reliable than almost anything any ‘regular’ company could afford.
What effect does that have on my email (and that of my employees)?
Office 365 for Business (and its Online Exchange) means email that works. It means no unexpected shutdowns that can corrupt local .pst files, or crashed Exchange servers that cause unavailability of email files. And as we’ve already noted, it also means the same email on every device, anywhere.
Other key benefits of Office 365 include:
1. No more maintenance
Being in the cloud, Office 365 is always up to date, always maintained and never requires patching. No more ‘patch Tuesday’ – and when it updates, on a continuous basis, user impact is virtually zero.
2. O365 scales with your business
Like other cloud offerings, you pay for what you use. Growing company? Add Office 365 licenses. Downsizing? Remove some. Note that there are options available: if your company has a consistent headcount, choose a longer contract period to benefit from reduced pricing. But if employee numbers routinely change, go with the ‘month to month’ option.
3. Work anywhere, from any device
Yep, we’ve covered this already. But when you try Office 365 and see how well it works across devices, you’’ll be as enthusiastic as we are about accessing everything from any device. It just works well.
4. No annual commitment, same monthly pricing
One of the most recent additions to the Office 365 offering, is the option to pay monthly in local currency without having to commit to an annual agreement. This means no more hassle reconciling credit cards and more freedom to scale your business.
Sound good? It should, and there’s more positive news, but that’s another blog post.
