What is Office 365?
The basic version of Office 365 is Microsoft’s Office suite of tools (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint) but accessed through Microsoft’s cloud. Cloud, to some, is still a scary word. To explain what I mean by those tools being in the cloud is that, with Office 365, they are all accessible through a web browser or internet connected application and when they save, which is usually automatic, they will do so to your OneDrive Business or Personal account. From there, that will sync between your devices and provide you with unfettered access to your work from anywhere in the world.
Why should I, or my business, be using Office 365?
The benefits of having cloud-based tools and file structure are huge, especially for a business trying to cut it’s IT expenses.
Software Updates are free – Actually, they are better than free, because they don’t take up any of your time. Every time that your software needs an update, it will happen at Microsoft and won’t waste your company time or effect your productivity. Alternatively, locally based solutions need regularly scheduled patches and software updates that require an IT Administrator to take over your PC, either in person or remotely, for a length of costly time before you can get back to work.
Instant Backup and Disaster Recovery – Have you lost documents because of a poorly installed update, computer crash, or meteor strike? Office 365 backs up all of your important documents as you’re working on them. Gone are the days of reminding yourself to save every ten minutes and here are the days when you can concentrate on only getting the work done.
Collaboration – Shared documents and folders across Office 365. Multiple people can be working on a project and have access to all of the necessary files while you or the company administrator retains control over which team members have access. Version saves also makes it easy to undo work that might have gone down the wrong path without you having to restart the entire project from scratch.
Online isn’t required – Whenever you need to get work done, on any device you need to do it on, your files are there. And with regularly synced systems, you can continue to work even if your connection is out of reach.
Security – This is the big one. To build the kind of infrastructure necessary to securely protect your own network, shared folders, IP addresses, and personal information can add up to the tens of thousands of dollars very quickly, depending on the size of your company (for example: a 10 person network with routers, PC’s, servers, mobile devices, firewall, and any other necessary hardware can pay up to $15,000 just to get it all purchased and installed, and could be paying a monthly maintenance cost of $3,000+ just to keep it up to date and running). This expense is unnecessary with Office 365, as none of it is kept on your local devices. Instead paying the monthly per user cost and saving thousands while keeping your network as locked down as if you had spent all that money.
Office 365 makes collaboration, security, and backups easy and inexpensive. You might already use it in your private life, so you know the benefits. Now try to imagine applying those benefits to your work environment.
In 2020, a world struck by pandemic and disasters so much that the internet has made millions of jokes about it, having a backup solution that’s simple and inexpensive while still encouraging collaboration and using the same tools that everyone has used for over 25 years is a miracle.
Combined Systems Technology 