Understanding the value of Microsoft 365 for businesses.

When it was announced in 2017, there was a bit of confusion around the name of Microsoft 365. After all, we had had the pleasure of Microsoft Office 365 since 2011 so was this a name change or a new product? Where did Office 365 fit in? With a higher price point and an obscure name, what is Microsoft 365 and where is the value?

Put simply, Microsoft 365 is an all-in-one package that encompasses our vision of the Modern Workplace and what it needs to be realized; the productivity and collaboration tools from Office 365, the performance and intuitiveness of a Modern Windows device and the integrated security from the Enterprise Mobility and Security suite.

Understanding the Modern Workplace

The IT network diagram has changed profoundly. In the average office, there was a network and somewhere on that network was a server and that’s where the files were and if there was no red cross on your network drives then all was good in the world. If you wanted access to those files, you had to get on that network either by going to the office or by dialing in via VPN connection. But our expectations of how we want to work anywhere, anytime no longer mesh with that constraint of having to connect.

We want to turn on our device and get to it, not power on, wait for Wi-Fi, dial VPN before we can get to work, or our creative/productive juices have been stymied whenever one of those steps doesn’t happen. We’re out in the world working and we don’t want IT to get in the way, so we need a way of working anywhere, anytime while maintaining security of our accounts and the company data that we work with. We're also using myriad 3rd-party services outside that traditional network structure.

Additionally, we want a device that takes advantage of the advances in technology with the ability to use touch inputs. Using Ink-type input with OneNote gets rid of the pen and paper during meetings and brain-storming with the Whiteboard app allows us to interact visually and intuitively.

Microsoft 356 in the Modern Workplace

There are three key areas where Microsoft 365 embraces the Modern Workplace; Productivity (Office 365), Device (Windows 10) and Security (EM+S). Most of us will be familiar with Office 365 with email, cloud-based file storage and Microsoft Office, and Windows 10 has been out for five years so we should be similarly familiar with this. But Security is where Microsoft 365 can offer the most value.

With the old IT networks, you could control security by controlling access to the office and that would prevent most risks (clicking on stuff we shouldn’t aside). But with the work anywhere, anytime vision, the company data is at risk anywhere, anytime as well. We need a way to protect ourselves and our company data in a way that isn’t intrusive, and this is where Enterprise Mobility and Security (EM+S) works in tandem with Office 365 and Windows to protect us. For example, it’s expected that Sally the CEO might need to log in from anywhere in the world, but when she logs in from multiple geographical locations in a way that isn’t physically possible, we need to be able to protect her and the company data she has access to. If Jack leaves the company, we need to make sure that any documents he has copied either accidentally or deliberately to a USB drive are still protected by encrypting them. If a device is lost, we want to be able to remotely wipe the device through EM+S or ensure the hard-drive is encrypted via Bitlocker.

This is merely scratching the surface of the integrated security available through Microsoft 365, but these examples highlight the immediate value that it brings to our businesses and organisations.