7 Ways to Supercharge Your Team with Microsoft 365

24/06/2021

Aurelia runs a successful organisation where her business requires the majority of her team to be out on the road meeting clients. She also expects, over the coming months, that the number of flexible working requests from her employees will increase.  For these reasons, Aurelia needs to ensure her team has anytime, anywhere access to company data using secure software, on any device. It’s imperative her team remain productive and focused to ensure business growth after experiencing an unstable period.

Wanting to embrace a hybrid working environment that allows for easy collaboration between co-workers she realises she needs to upgrade her current Microsoft on-premise software. Upgrading to a cloud-based version of Microsoft 365 (M365) will offer increased business agility, the latest technology and will allow the support of her mobile workers.

Aurelia has heard there are many benefits to moving to Microsoft 365 but how does it compare to her current software, and will the transition be smooth? If you have similar concerns, follow along below and learn more about Microsoft 365 and how it can support your flexible workplace!

Meet the Microsoft 365 Family

Previously known as Office 365, Microsoft 365 brings together a whole host of intelligent cloud-based apps that are designed to improve productivity along with offering world-class security. All Microsoft 365 plans provide users with anytime, anywhere access to best-in-class apps, perfect if your business is embracing the hybrid working movement.

As a cloud-based subscription service, the suite of apps to improve productivity and collaboration are constantly growing. The core apps included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium include:

Pictured from left to right: Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Exchange, Access, Teams, OneDrive SharePoint and Intune.

Many readers will already be familiar with some of these apps, especially Microsoft Outlook (email app), Word (word processor app), Excel (spreadsheet app), PowerPoint (presentation app) and Publisher (publicity/design app). Other apps included in this subscription plan are:

Teams

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration app that helps your staff stay organised and in touch with each other. Users are able to chat, video call, manage their calendar and securely access files with the ability to share and collaborate on work with others at any time.

Exchange

Microsoft Exchange is a piece of software that runs on a server to manage your organisation’s emails. Exchange centralises your emails, ensuring they are backed up. If you are relying on your web-hosting company to manage your emails they will most likely not be backed up but downloaded and stored on your computer. 

OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service. You can securely save all your important files in a centralised place and access them from anywhere. All Microsoft 365 plans come with 1TB of OneDrive storage for files and sharing.

SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is an app that makes it possible to share your documents with everyone that requires access, wherever they are located.

Intune

Microsoft Intune manages mobile devices and mobile applications. It allows your organisation to control how devices are used and to configure policies for applications. If you have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy Intune can help to protect your data by specifying who has access to certain data and networks.

7 Benefits of Upgrading to Microsoft 365 

Easy Installation and Automatic Updates

The thought of upgrading systems can be off-putting for organisations. Microsoft 365 is quick and easy to deploy, with the ability to run apps locally or online anytime, from anywhere, on any device. Updates for Microsoft 365 are configured to download automatically, now that’s one less thing to worry about!

New Users are Easily Added

Are you welcoming a new staff member to the team? Create a new user account for them quickly and smoothly using Microsoft’s hybrid active directory. This makes sure nothing is forgotten or missed during the onboarding process.

Access Files Anywhere

Microsoft 365 allows for files to be stored in the cloud giving you freedom from hardware and storage. This is key if your organisation is adopting a hybrid working model where users need to access apps and data from any location. All you need is an internet connection and you’re ready to start work.

Business Continuity

Whether your organisation suffers a malicious attack, force of nature or a human error incident it can be business as usual with Microsoft 365. As emails, files and data are stored in the cloud, with regular backups in place, downtime is vastly reduced allowing your organisation to function as normal.

Improved Collaboration and Communication

Microsoft 365 offers organisations a modern way of working, allowing users to collaborate with co-workers no matter where they are located. Co-author or share documents and presentations, chat with team members, schedule online meetings and manage your calendar using a laptop or digital device. 

Advanced Security

Moving to Microsoft 365 allows you to safeguard your organisation’s data with a cloud-based platform built with security in mind for mobile workers. Additional to antimalware and antispam Microsoft 365 security protection includes:

• Multifactor authentication to prevent users’ accounts from being breached from a loss of password.
• Geo-blocking to prevent bad actors from accessing accounts from locations your users do not work from.
• Prevent data loss with the ability to apply special rules to intercept data that matches a pattern from leaving your control. This can include if an email contains a passport number or bank details.

Predictable Spend

For the greatest flexibility, Microsoft 365 for Business is available as pay-as-you-go, per user on a monthly or annual commitment depending on the plan you choose. Upgrades are included in the cost of your licence, meaning there are no unexpected costs. Plans are also scalable meaning you can add or remove users at any time depending on your business requirements. 

There are Four Plans Available:

• Microsoft Business Basic
• Microsoft Business Standard
• Microsoft Business Premium
• Microsoft Apps

Details and pricing on each plan can be viewed here.

Ready to Upgrade to Microsoft 365? 

Are you considering upgrading your current on-premise Office 365 software or enhancing your existing Microsoft 365 subscription to take advantage of additional apps? NCI Technologies can help! As a leading Microsoft Partner, we have invaluable expertise to ensure your migration to Microsoft 365 is seamless and trouble-free.

Not sure if Microsoft 365 is suitable for you? Explore the freedom of access before you make the transition with our free trial offer. Alternatively, contact our expert sales team today to find out more on how your business can benefit from upgrading to Microsoft 365.

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