Many businesses tend to work with a number of different software providers. Over time, the number of different platforms used by a business can get out of control, especially if these platforms do not talk to one another. You may end up missing emails and appointments because your calendar doesn’t sync to your phone, overwriting files by mistake, or waste time working on the wrong version of a file. When this happens, it can result in inefficiency and frustration for your staff. Luckily, Microsoft 365 for business (formerly Office 365) provides a complete software ecosystem, which houses all your business activity in one place. In this guide, we look at what Microsoft 365 for business is, what it offers in terms of applications, and how you can migrate your business to this platform easily.
What is Microsoft 365 for business? And what are the benefits?
If you talk to anyone who works with a computer, you may have heard them mention Microsoft 365. In a nutshell, Microsoft 365 is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution which brings together Microsoft Office desktop applications (such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Microsoft’s application services (like SharePoint, OneDrive etc.), and a range of new productivity services (such as MS Teams), and delivers them via Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. In other words, rather than purchasing a single license for Microsoft Office applications, you purchase an ongoing subscription which includes a suite of Microsoft’s business services.
Typically installed by a business IT provider, Microsoft 365 offers a number of powerful benefits for small and medium sized businesses.
- Connectivity. With Microsoft 365, all of your files and applications are connected, and sync instantly. This means that your emails, calendar and business files all talk to each other between devices (phones, tablets, desktops, printers etc.) and users, so you can work on them at the same time, and never miss anything.
- Access. Everything is stored centrally on Microsoft’s Cloud and accessed via various applications, meaning your staff can access their email, calendar and all business files from any device, in any location, and any time, as long as they have a device with an internet connection, and a web browser.
- Productivity. With everything connected and accessible to everyone, it means multiple people can work on the same file at once, with instant syncing. Staff spend less time doing administrative tasks, and more time focusing on their work.
- Collaboration. With platforms like Teams, your staff can easily chat, share files, and organise virtual meetings, allowing better collaboration on tasks and projects. This improves their productivity and ability to work in both physical and virtual environments (i.e., from home).
- Scalability. Microsoft 365 can easily be scaled with your business. Each time a new employee is hired, an additional ‘seat’ is purchased, giving them access to the same suite of features and applications as everyone else.
Microsoft 365 provides some powerful benefits when it comes to connectivity, access, productivity, collaboration, and scalability. And it does this via a suite of applications that are available to you and your staff.
Microsoft 365 applications
While there are many applications and plugins available within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, there are a handful of applications that are crucial to a business, and are used on a daily basis by staff. These include Sharepoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Office and Teams.
- Microsoft SharePoint. SharePoint is a web-based document management and storage system. It acts as a centralised cloud server where all of your company files are stored and accessed by staff. It can be configured for automated backups, instant syncing to your devices, and integrates with MS Office applications.
- Microsoft OneDrive. OneDrive is different to SharePoint. Where SharePoint is a central storage service for company files, OneDrive is a cloud based file storage system for personal files. Each employee gets their own storage so they can access their files from any location or device.
- Microsoft Outlook / Exchange. Microsoft 365 comes with both Outlook and Exchange. This allows you to synchronise your email ad calendars across your desktop, tablet, phone and other devices, so you can access them anywhere. It can also be paired with Microsoft Defender to filter out spam email.
- Microsoft Office. Office includes the usual suite of applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. The additional benefit is that when you are working on files, they automatically sync with SharePoint and OneDrive, allowing automatic saving, version control, and collaboration.
- Microsoft Teams. A collaboration platform which allows project teams to live chat, video call, access and work on SharePoint files simultaneously, and schedule meetings, amongst other things. Teams integrates with SharePoint, calendars and Office for significant productivity increases. Teams can also replace your company phone system, to unify your communications into a single platform.
There are lots of small and medium sized businesses already using Microsoft 365 to improve their productivity and streamline their IT, and it is relatively straightforward to migrate to this system, with the help of an experienced IT provider.
How to migrate your business to Microsoft 365
Whether you are currently using some of the existing Microsoft applications, or a completely different system altogether (i.e. Google Workspace), your business IT provider can help you to smoothly transition over to Microsoft 365. Ask your IT provider about the following tools, which should make the migration process simple and easy for your business.
- Automatic email migration. Your emails can be automatically migrated from Google or other services, meaning you do not have to manually transfer anything. Your Microsoft 365 email will simply appear, and all your emails will already be there.
- Automated file transfers. Like emails, all your files can be automatically migrated from Google Drive, DropBox, or your local server. They are loaded into SharePoint so you are ready to use them right away, with minimal disruption.
- Setting up user access. Your IT provider can set up user access and syncing for all your staff devices, meaning they can simply log in to their PC, tablet, or smartphone and have access to everything they need right away.
If you are interested in migrating over to Microsoft 365, get in touch with us and let’s get started. The sooner you make the switch to this platform, the more benefit you will gain in terms of productivity.
