4 KEY SERVICES FROM OFFICE 365

The services offered from Microsoft Office 365 help to increase productivity in the workplace; through the range of technologies specifically tailored to each user’s needs. This all seamlessly feeds into the cloud to allow for a modern working atmosphere.

There are four key technologies used by businesses worldwide. We have created a handy list that details each of their purpose and what problems they solve.

SharePoint Online

SharePoint is a web-based document management and storage system that is designed to drive collaboration in the workplace. SharePoint has three main features:

Approval Workflows

The SharePoint Approval Workflow lets you route documents and other items stored in SharePoint to one or more people for their approval; this is usually from a staff member to a member of management.

An Approval workflow automatically routes the document or item, assigns review tasks and tracks their progress, and sends reminders and notifications when needed. 

These workflows can help you automate your business processes, making them both more consistent and more efficient. The activity in a workflow can be monitored and adjusted from a central status page. It also saves you and your colleagues both time and trouble, and at the same time streamlines and standardises your approval process.

Version control

Version control takes place in the site’s lists and libraries, where you can track and manage information as it evolves. Each time an item is edited, a new version is created.

You can locate earlier versions of work and recover them; this could be due to the earlier version being more accurate than later ones or that it hasn’t been corrupted. This is most effective for organisations that retain multiple versions of items in their lists for legal or audit purposes.

Version control allows organisations to easily keep track of each document, store the different versions online safely and it clearly lays out who has edited an item and when.

File Sharing

SharePoint Online Document Library is a place where you can share files and folders. It can hold as many as 30 million items.  The files stored on a SharePoint site can be accessed by anyone; you are also able to share specific files and folders to assigned users. It offers real-time collaboration capabilities on all documents, from remote locations and you can monitor who is working on a document.  

Skype for Business

Skype for Business is an instant messaging client used with Skype for Business Server or with Skype for Business Online.

It offers robust capabilities for: instant messaging, web conferencing, screen sharing, audio, video, recording and note taking.  

This is an answer to real-time communication needs that all businesses require. Users from all over the world can use this service, at any time. Large amounts of users can attend a meeting and the use of audio/video opens a more personalised way to communicate.

Office Professional Plus

Office Professional Plus includes; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Publisher.

These services offer a range of actions, including: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, digital notetaking and desktop publishing.

Each of these applications are connected to the cloud so items are automatically saved and can be accessed remotely by any member of an organisation.

Exchange Online

Exchange Online is Microsoft’s answer to email server technology. It securely manages emails, calendars, contacts, and tasks.

The service simplifies the management and administration of this technology; users can synchronise their email, calendar, contacts, and tasks across many devices. Users can also access web-based email wherever an Internet connection is available, without the complicated corporate sign in/firewall procedures.

All accounts come with security measures that prevent hackers from gaining control of your account. Which protects both your company and clients from cyber security threats. They also come with filters that prevent spam from reaching your inbox or being sent to your clients.

Exchange Online makes use of Microsoft’s global server infrastructure complete with full redundancy, premier disaster recovery capabilities and a 99.9% uptime guarantee that comes with a financially-backed service level agreement.

This service requires very little maintenance and will provide the end user with a fully functional enterprise email system. Microsoft takes care of all system updates and patching so that the service is always up to date and running smoothly.

And finally, Microsoft Exchange Online is so flexible, it allows you to stay completely in control of costs providing you with the option to increase or decrease the number of mailboxes that are required at any point in.

Microsoft Office 365 delivers the power of cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, helping save time, money, and free up valued resources. Office 365 combines the familiar Microsoft Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft’s next-generation communications and collaboration services to help users be productive from virtually anywhere through the Internet. Pretty great, huh?

Microsoft Office 365 is available in a variety of plans to best meet the needs of an organisation. Want to know more? Get in touch and we’ll answer all your questions.