There has been a lot of excitement amongst small businesses surrounding Microsoft Office 365. We use it internally here at Datasharp and we haven’t looked back. From our experience and knowledge here are our top 5 things you should know before moving your business to Office 365:
What is Office 365?
Microsoft Office 365 provides anywhere access to your familiar Office applications, email, calendar, video conferencing, and most up-to-date documents, across your devices – from PCs to Macs to Windows 8 mobile devices.
Look professional when interacting with customers and partners with business email branded with your company name. Everyone can work together easily with real-time note-taking, screen sharing, and high-definition video conferencing.
When away from your computer, you can stream a full-featured version of Office on any internet-connected PC with Office on Demand. You don’t need to be an IT expert to add users, set access rules, and remotely lock and wipe devices.
Office 365 security…
Your data has never been more secure and safe:
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee with a financially backed SLA to ensure downtime is a thing of the past.
- Secure encrypted datacentres which are compliant with world class industry standards such as ISO 270001, EU Model Clauses, HIPAA-BAA, FISMA and the Data Processing Agreement.
- Backups are taken automatically and data is replicated in geo-redundant datacentres to ensure even if an entire datacentre went down, you are not affected.
Microsoft’s cloud offerings are far more secure and redundant than most small to mid-size businesses could ever hope for.
What do I need?
To be able to use Office 365 there are some minimum requirements that you need to be aware of. First you will need internet access, a compatible browser (Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 12, Safari 5 or Chrome 18 (minimums)) and an Office 365 account. For your hardware you will need at least the following:
- Operating System: Windows 7 or Windows 8 or Mac OS X 10.6
- 1 GHz Processor & 1GB RAM (minimum)
- 3 GB of Hard drive space
- If you choose not to take the latest version of office applications in your subscription plan, Office 2010 is recommended as a minimum
What will I get and what does it cost?
Office 365 is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are multiple plans available to suit different business sizes and needs. The Office 365 Small Business Premium plan costs £8.40 per user per month and includes:
- The Office suite – always have the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access.
- Office on more devices – experience Office on your PC, Mac, Windows tablet & Mobile and other select devices.
- Office on any PC – stream full versions of Office programs on any PC with Office on Demand.
Plus these online services:
- Email and calendars – Use business-class Outlook email, including a 25 GB mailbox per user, shared calendars and task-list tools.
- Public website – Design and maintain your own public website with no additional hosting fees. Use your own domain name to promote your brand.
- Team sites – Enable easy access and sharing of documents with 10 GB baseline storage plus 500 MB of storage per user.
- Web conferencing – Host online meetings with audio and video using one-click screen sharing and HD video conferencing.
- Instant messaging – Simplify how you connect with instant messaging and Presence (your online status).
Why you should choose Datasharp when moving to Office 365?
Importantly, at Datasharp we are a Microsoft Gold Partner in the Small Business competency. We employ engineers who were some of the first in the world to gain the new Charter MCSA in Office 365, which is currently the highest public certification available. They also use Office 365 daily to ensure they are always on the ball with the latest developments and features – simply put we are experts in all things MSO365.
