The Office in the Sky! #office365

The Office in the Sky!

Don’t miss your ticket space-age office productivity

By now you may have heard the terminology: “Cloud Computing”, “Hosted Web Apps”, “Subscription-Based Productivity Suites” or “Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)” - all phrases used to describe Salesforce.com, Google Apps, and now market share leader, Microsoft’s Office 365. The latest version of the world’s most popular office suite of products (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, OneNote, etc) is now available online and here are a few reasons why we think it is an important upgrade for your business:

• Accessibility - finally, the ability to work on Office documents from smartphones and tablets, Android and Apple, the same as from desktops and laptops.
• No more worrying about compatibility or formatting issues in sharing documents between users with different versions (Ex: user in Marketing running Office 2010 and user in Accounting using Office 2013, due to software or PC’s that were purchased at different times).
• Availability and Reliability - you’re not tied down to an internet connection; PC, mobile device or browser. Instant messaging, real-time presence, video conferencing and desktop sharing are accessible right from familiar Office applications. Financial credit available if it’s not up 99.9% of the time. A goal Microsoft has consistently exceeded since launching in 2011.
• Security and Privacy - 365 is built from the ground up with this in mind. No risk of having information scanned for ad targeting.
• Familiarity - it has both the simplicity and productivity of past versions of traditional Office. Resulting in a consistent experience across devices and platforms.
• Interoperability - use the same tools as your customers and partners. The fidelity of your documents will be preserved across devices and look as expected to the recipients.
• It sure beats maintaining a local instance of Exchange - viruses wreaking havoc on your ability to send/receive email, need for certified Admins, power, cooling, etc. 365 reduces your computing footprint, which can save thousands of dollars over time.
• Great for small offices (ie. less-than-10 full-time employees), without a dedicated IT department. Updates and patches don’t need to be delivered by qualified technicians.
• Excellent solution for travelers, who need constant access to company information.
• Allows businesses to focus on core competencies, yielding greater productivity.
• Simple, no need for in-house IT staff. Setting up new users and their permission levels is a snap. Training investment is minimized.
• Fixes and enhancements are delivered when needed. No need to wait for patches, future updates or subsequent versions. Microsoft promises much more consistent innovation.
• Pricing is per user, so you only pay for the copies you use. Low upfront costs and the flexibility to add users and services as needed. No more dusty CD’s of under-unutilized and overly-expensive software. No need to pay for unutilized components. Extras like Visio and Powerpoint are purchased on an as-needed basis.
• Much greater collaboration possibilities. Work on the same document, together, at the same time, from anywhere in the world.
• Cloud backup and data synchronization. Business plans come with 1TB of cloud storage and sharing space. OneDrive will keep documents safe and synchronized, eliminating the need for competing services such as DropBox. In some cases eliminating the need for thumb drives (that can get lost or become infected) to shuttle documents between work and home or site-to-site.
• Not a one-way, all-or-nothing ticket. Companies can always go back to the traditional, locally installed version of Office - or even run both (traditional and 365) side-by-side.

Last, but certainly not least, official support from Microsoft is (or soon will be) sunsetted for the following versions as indicated - after which time, fixes may not be issued or help provided ...

Support Lifecycle*:

• Office 2013, Mainstream Support End Date: 4/10/18
• Office 2010, Mainstream Support End Date: 10/13/15
• Office 2007, Mainstream Support End Date: 10/9/12
• Office 2003, Mainstream Support End Date: 4/14/09
• Office XP, Mainstream Support End Date: 7/11/06

* In some cases, it may be possible to pay for the “Extended Support” package, which runs a little bit longer.

Are you using Office 365 yet? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!

If you have more questions, or would like some additional information, please give us a call!

As smart as a decision to move to Office 365 is, a company-wide migration (with minimal disruption) should be handled by professionals, as there are a few important pitfalls to watch out for. Don’t trust this process to just anyone. Shield Watch IT and Web Services has done this many times, so we speak from experience. We’ve learned the lessons so you don’t have to.

Call for your FREE evaluation today! 813-490-4260