Businesses should value organization, collaboration, and usability. There are few tools greater than what Microsoft has offered for nearly the last 30 years to fulfill these values. Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and so many more great tools are available to your business. Today we thought we would go over what other useful tools are available through Microsoft, and how your business can utilize each of them. 

If just 10 short years ago you were tasked with downloading software to your computer, this would require installation CDs and a specific product code. Once tooling in Microsoft Office became outdated, newer programs would require fronting a relatively large amount of money to have access to the latest and greatest tools available. While a few-hundred-dollar-license might not seem daunting in itself, mass updating your workforce’s tooling could result in tens of thousands of dollars, simply for updated programs. Fast forward ten years, where are we now? 

Software Licensing

Before we discuss what Office 365 has to offer, we would like to share why it makes sense to utilize all of the tooling we are about to mention. Times have changed and will continue to change, and as a result of this, your programs will too. Subscription-based products have revolutionized the way businesses deploy tooling to their workforce. An inexpensive monthly fee not only reduces startup costs, it also offers opportunities to expand. When new features are released, you don’t need to uninstall the old version and then reinstall the latest version. You have the latest and greatest, all the time, for a set fee. 

Businesses all around Bay Area & Northern California are utilizing outdated, incompatible, or insecure versions of Microsoft programs. Let’s discuss what Office 365 can do for your business, so you don’t have to be one of them.

Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Chances are, if you’ve used a computer you’ve used one of these programs. Maybe you can relate to this: have you ever dealt with the frustration of working on a project, only to discover that your secondary PC or home computer cannot open the file due to not having access to the program? 

Office 365 provides users with a login once a subscription is established. This means all of the bundled programs can be used anywhere, from any device. At the airport, away on a business trip, or just at home, your files can be viewed and edited on a tablet, smartphone, or laptop. The apps are free to download from both the Google Play Store, and Apple’s App Store.

If you are simply looking to review a document and do not wish to download the application on the device you will be using, any web browser can be used to review and edit projects in all three of these Microsoft-based tools. 

This usability would be completely useless if you didn’t have access to the file you would like to open. So, how do I access a file that I was previously working on? There is one simple solution to improving the accessibility of your files, and the entirety of this solution comes from one drive: OneDrive. 

OneDrive

OneDrive is exactly what it sounds like. It’s cloud-based storage where users can save and access files. Each user is given 1 TB of online storage, which can be saved in the same way your files would if you were saving them directly to your computer. You can make folders within folders within folders to organize all of your documentation. The benefit to saving all of your documents in OneDrive is anyone with internet access has access to the same files. 

Not only is OneDrive a fantastic storage option, it provides additional value that your business could greatly benefit from. Collaboration has never been easier. As long as your workforce has permissions to the same files, documents can be reviewed in ways that previously would not be possible. Let’s say, for example, you set up a to-do list for a new client. If Billy begins the initial client acclimation tasks, Mandy can take over the project because she has access to the same to-do list as Billy. 

If learning new processes is difficult for some employees, Office 365 has features that can help with this adjustment. Files on Demand allows the user to see files from within Windows the same way they would traditionally view files. 

The default 1 TB storage capacity can be upgraded if needed. Cloud based storage will keep space free on your workforce’s computers. If sharing large files, OneDrive should be your one-stop-shop.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s modern instant messaging tool. It allows your team to send individual messages, or set up groups for organized, written communication. 

SharePoint Online

This is Microsoft’s enterprise-driven collaboration tool. This is primarily utilized as a document management and storage system. However, this highly configurable product’s usage can be modified to fulfill the needs of your business. 

Exchange Online

Microsoft has been providing us tools for all of our needs, whether it’s editing software or mailing software. Wondering what tool they offer to exchange emails? Well, Microsoft Outlook of course. Whether you have the application on your desktop, or need to use a web browser, or even if you have the Outlook app on smartphones, Microsoft has the tool needed to exchange emails. This software even comes with basic malware and spam filtering! 

Office 365 

All programs mentioned are included in a subscription to Office 365, and so much more. If you’re nervous about adapting to the latest software, 415 IT is here to help. Our trained technicians have the know-how to help procure this beneficial technology. Call us today at (415) 295-4898!