Moving to the Cloud with Office 365

Microsoft’s Office Suite is as common a feature of your job as your chair, stapler and trash can. All offices speak in “spreadsheets,” “Word docs,” “Outlook” - all of which are essential things that depend on these tools. And now, more and more offices are moving many operations to “the Cloud” - application hosting on the internet, which offers various advantages (as well as challenges). Office 365 is all about moving your processes - and all of the things you use the traditional Office Suite to accomplish - up there with you.

Moving to the Cloud with Office 365 might help streamline processes while enhancing functionality with options like:

Total mobility

Enhanced collaboration

Secure services

Effective conferencing

Here are my thoughts about how Office 365 handles these options:

Mobility:
Office 365 is a subscription service, which means it’s available on all of the devices you use - your desktop, laptop and tablet all have access to the same files and programs, all the time, which means your office is totally mobile. Since it’s hosted in the cloud, the same files are available on any Internet-connected device as well.

Collaboration:
Office 365 makes collaboration on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and Outlook calendars a little easier by moving them to the cloud. The final master version of your file is available to everyone because all collaborators to work on a single document. A word of caution, though: Office 365 users work in “near-time,” which means that your changes don’t appear to other collaborators until you've saved the document.

Secure service:
Office 365 operates within strict security and trust guidelines designed to address your concerns with data safety in the cloud, too. Your files, emails and documents are not scanned, for instance, to create advertising - or any other - profiles. Microsoft also backs Office 365 with a strong service guarantee of 99.9% uptime - to ensure your files are secure.

Web Conferencing:
Office 365 also enhaces meetings on the web with audio or video web conferencing for as many as 250 participants. That includes screen-sharing, note-taking, chatting and the ability to see who’s online and who’s not. And, because Outlook is also part of Office 365, scheduling meetings, setting reminders and planning can get a boost as well.

Summary
Office 365 may not cover everything you use the Office Suite for now, but it can help make the transition to the Cloud a little easier for you and your business. Chances are most of your processes and workflows will fit with an Office 365 subscription - some may not. This is where Anchor steps in. Our expertise in analysis and support, as well as our long experience with network ecosystems and how to make them work for business makes us the perfect group to help you make the right decision.

When you’re ready to move to the cloud and need some solid, experienced guidance to make sure you’re taking the right path, please contact us.