Office 365 is a cloud based subscription plan which includes Microsoft’s traditional software and services, and much more. This office suite includes all familiar applications beginning with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. Office 365 provides dynamic set of cloud connected tools that will help you communicate, collaborate and get more work done. You get all the cloud driven features combined in one suite with automatic updates and with global network of expert support connected 24*7 making your job done in a better, faster and efficient way.
Now let’s take a look at what are the services delivered by Office 365 and how they can benefit you every day.
The common features are mainly as follows:
1) Latest version of Office suites and web applications
Office 365 uses all the familiar applications that you have used in past years. The only difference is now these apps have become better than before. There are no more upgrades, instead there are only updates which are much more easy and quick to install.
2) SharePoint
Organisations use SharePoint to create, design and manage websites. It provides content management and enables enterprise search capabilities in an organisation. Also it can be used as application platform where company can use it as intranet or extranet to communicate with partners.
SharePoint is divided as three major sections – OneDrive, Newsfeed and sites.
3) OneDrive for business
This feature helps you to collaborate and share your documents with other users and helps you to connect with your colleagues and partners virtually on any device. With this feature you can add your team to work on the same file simultaneously and keep a track of each user’s changes on real time. This actually helps in removing file duplication. You don’t need to be at your desk always to work together. You can keep an eye on the changes online and offline. Once you have saved your files in OneDrive, they will follow you everywhere. You can see your saved and uploaded files from other devices. And for that all you have to do is to sign in to your Office 365 account. Another best feature of OneDrive is whatever changes (update, modify or delete) you make on your files it’s automatically synced in all other devices.
4) Skype for business
Organisations need right people to get the work done. Skype for business makes it easy to connect people online globally no matter wherever they are. Users can join meetings on multiple devices in just one click away. Features like HD videos, instant messaging, audio/video conferencing, desktop sharing, uploading & sharing presentations help to make meetings matter.
5) Exchange Online
This is a hosted platform of Microsoft Exchange Server integrated with Microsoft Outlook helps to manage tasks, emails and calendars. You can share calendars with others. Your calendar will stay up to date in all other devices once you make any changes.
Other additions to Office 365 are as follows:
Yammer – Yammer is a private social media platform for organisations. This helps corporate employees to exchange ideas, feedbacks, reviews etc. It helps in connecting a vast distributed network in a feasible way.
Sway – Sway is a presentation tool of Office 365 designed to create and design reports and presentations. This feature is suitable for digital presentation for audiences rather than live audience.
So if we summarise the benefits of using Office 365 in organisation in brief, they will be the following:
- Applications can be used from any cross platform like PCs, Android, iOS and even MACs anytime anywhere. So now, organisations can expand their business globally with cloud services more conveniently than before.
- Sharing and collaboration of applications globally have become easy with Office 365. Office 365 makes your job so flexible that your files are never stuck on your PC at your work or laptop at your home. It lets you sync, share and collaborate documents virtually anytime, anywhere.
- Organisations undoubtedly run because of employees. And enterprises buy the user licenses of Microsoft suite depending on the count of the employees. If an employee leaves tomorrow, certainly one cannot request return and refund of the license to Microsoft. With Office 365 services you can flexibly scale up or scale down with a reasonable and predictable cost structure
- With Office 365 the problem of reinstallation of new updated software on every user’s machine has been resolved. The office suite automatically updates itself on every user’s devices.
- Lastly, Office 365 provides encrypted security to your organisation’s sensitive information preventing data loss.
The Office 365 suite will undoubtedly make your job easy, stress free, manageable and cost effective and improve your company’s performance and productivity leading a successful business ahead.
Please feel free to contact us for providing you more details about Office 365 features.