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Benefits of Using Office 365 For Your Business

When you are assessing whether a piece of software is the right option for your business, just being one of the biggest names in the industry isn’t enough.  You want to know it has the features you need that produce benefits that help you.  So, when the software in question is Office 365, what are the big benefits that it brings?

What is included with Office 365?

Microsoft Office has been one of the top office software options for many years and incorporates more features than ever, that’s one of the reasons why Microsoft office training is so important.

Top of the list are their core programs, Word and Excel.  These are the word processing and spreadsheet programs that have been the gold standard for such software for many years and continue to develop and add extra features.  The package also includes PowerPoint, their slideshow presentation software.

When you use Office 365, you get access to Outlook and OneDrive.  Outlook is their email and calendar management program and can be used with any email account.  OneDrive is the cloud storage facility where all documents can be stored off-site for security.

There are also other benefits available depending on the package selected including Publisher and Access.  The software includes seamless integration with Skype for video and text communications and meetings.

Security benefits

With the growth of cybercriminals and things like malware and ransomware, businesses need to be more aware than ever of the security of anything they use.  That’s why Microsoft have invested heavily in the security provided with Office 365 to offer the top quality cloud-based options.  Some of the security features include:

  • Encrypted email so no-one apart from the recipient can read them
  • Data loss prevention to identify, monitor and protect sensitive information
  • Mobile device management to protect company information on mobile devices
  • Advanced threat analytics to help detect and alert to suspicious behaviour on the company network

With the use of multi-factor authentication, it is easier to ensure only the right people see company data and works perfectly alongside other security protections you will have in place.

Ease of collaboration

As working practices changes, the need to collaborate in different ways is a key requirement for businesses.  Even small businesses or sole traders may want to hire a virtual assistant or work with another company and being able to easily collaborate through Office 365 is a huge benefit of the software.

Office 365 is a cloud-based software, and this means that you can access it anywhere, from any device.  Emails, files and the programs can be used by staff in any location with the security information provided to them.  So, whether you have multiple sites, work with freelancers or even other companies, the built-in collaboration features make this much simpler.

There are even special collaboration features within some of the programs.  For example, with Word, it is easy for different people to record information in a document and the software shows what different users have added.  It also eliminates the need for multiple versions of a document to be in use.

Cloud based means instant updates

Because Office 365 is a cloud based software, there’s no need to be waiting for the latest software updates to arrive on a disc then be added to your system.  In fact, there’s no need for a physical place for the software to live at all as it works via the cloud.

It also means updates are done as soon as they are released so if there is a new security feature, there’s no chance that this is missed, and your software is left vulnerable.  All software is updated in the same way too so there’s no risk that one element of Office remains on an obsolete version.

Being cloud-based also means there are no licensing issues and the software can be used company-wide without the need for constant new licensing information.  Everyone within the company will always be using the same version as upgrades will be done simultaneously.

Range of payment options

In past times, Office was a large single purchase with an annual renewal.  But there are now various options that allow businesses to spread the cost with monthly options.  Not only that, but you can pick and mix between the different elements that the package has to suit what you need.

Office 365 has seven different plans to cater for different business sizes and needs.  This means you can select the software you need and not pay money for parts of the package that you won’t use.  They also offer the ability to mix and match elements if one of their pre-set plans doesn’t meet your needs.

Helps with organisation

Organising your business, no matter what the size, is key to success and Office has a range of features within it that can help with this.  Plus, all of these features are automatically synchronized across all devices so there’s no need to worry that something has been forgotten as it was used on another device.

Top quality support

Microsoft Office 365 has a 99.99% uptime guarantee that means the software experiences virtually no downtime.  The company also offer a range of support options to ensure if you do experience any problems or issues, there is always help available.  Other support features including IT admin phone support, disaster recovery and geo-redundant data centres.

Plenty of integrations

Sitting at the top of the charts for this type of software for many years, Office 365 also has plenty of integrations with other software options that make it easy to integrate into existing systems.  Or it can be at the heart of new systems and processes that you create.

Top quality software option

The benefits of Microsoft Office 365 show that it is a top quality software option that is suitable for businesses of all sizes.  With flexible packages, it is always affordable and allows you to pay for what you need only.  The collaboration and security features protect your company while making it easy to work with staff anywhere in the world, seamlessly and in a variety of different ways.

Elliott Training has been helping businesses with Office 365 courses and other training programs for over 20 years. We use our knowledge and experience to help your business grow and develop.

Simply fill out our contact form or call us on 01454 203 355 to enquire about our courses today.

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