Choosing the right Office 365 for business plan is important to get the best tools, security, and value for your company. Many businesses use basic plans but miss powerful features that boost productivity.
In this blog, you will learn the key features and benefits of Office 365 for businesses, when it’s the right time to upgrade, and how it helps your team work smarter.
Why Office 365?
Unlike the traditional retail versions of Microsoft Office, Office 365 uses a completely different payment model. Being a cloud-based subscription service, the office suite allows businesses to take advantage of flexible monthly payments, since the software is delivered as a service. Subscribers will always have the latest version of the suite, instead of having to invest in costly upgrades every time Microsoft releases a new edition. The new subscription model has proven controversial, however, with many users claiming that it works out a lot more expensive in the longer term.
Fortunately, an Office 365 subscription provides a number of additional benefits to attract business users. For a start, it offers a high degree of flexibility and scalability for growing businesses. Subscribers will be able to access any applications provided with their packages from desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones running Windows 8 or Windows 10.
Key Features and Benefits of Office 365 for Businesses
Office 365 enables businesses to remain competitive with real-time collaboration, seamless integration, and automatic updates. Here are a few features and benefits that make Office 365 well suited for today’s workplaces.
Collaboration Tools
Office 365 allows for real-time collaboration through Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Team members can swap information, engage in a video conference, co-author documents, and transfer files in real time, thus freeing up communication and boosting productivity across departments and remote teams.
Cloud Storage & Accessibility
One of the best things about Office 365 is that it provides secure cloud storage with OneDrive and SharePoint, meaning fast and convenient access to your files from anywhere. So you can no longer tell your boss that you don’t have access to those documents. Plus, its sync feature will allow you to update information automatically while you work on it.
Security and Compliance Features
And of course, security. Office 365 offers integrated multi-factor authentication, data loss prevention and threat detection. Not only is this beneficial for your team, but your company will also comply with regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, keeping confidential data secure.
Productivity Enhancements
Do you feel like your team lacks productivity? With Office 365, not anymore! Intelligent Outlook scheduling and AI-based tools in Word and Excel will make workflows more automated and efficient, making task management and daily operations simpler to execute.
Office 365 Applications for Business Users
Office 365 provides a complete suite of important business applications intended to enhance productivity, simplify communication, and enable smooth cooperation. With a subscription plan allows the platform to provide both the web-based and desktop versions for different business needs. Here is an overview of the main business apps:
Word, Excel, and Outlook
Office 365 and Office 365 Business include the well-known Word, Excel, and Outlook apps that businesses use day-to-day. Word allows you to create and edit documents, and Excel is designed for data analysis and reporting. Outlook offers professional email, 50 GB of storage, calendar and scheduling functionalities, all helping your team communicate and collaborate efficiently.
Publisher, PowerPoint, and Access
Going premium always has its extra benefits. Office 365 Business Premium and Enterprise E3 users also have access to Publisher to create marketing materials and brochures, PowerPoint to make great presentations, and Access to manage business databases. Got a MAC? No problem, you can install it on PC, Mac, tablets and even mobile devices to live the experience wherever and however you want, with or without an internet connection.
OneNote & Teams for Collaboration
This means that OneNote and Microsoft Teams make life easier for your team by promoting collaboration. In addition, with OneNote your team can group notes, ideas and project plans, centralizing the information in a single shared place.
Teams enables instantaneous communication with HD video conferencing, chat, file-sharing, and online backup to keep employees connected wherever they are. These applications make collaboration easier and allow for flexible, cloud-based work environments.
Security and Compliance in Office 365
Designed with security and compliance in mind, Office 365 makes it easier for businesses to protect sensitive data and adhere to industry regulations. The platform’s integrated security measures safeguard against cyber-attacks, data breaches, and unauthorized access.
For businesses, these come with enhanced controls such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, and live threat monitoring. Creation of a compliance management tool, for example for GDPR, HIPAA, ISO, etc.
Office 365 gives your organization the continually updated protection it needs to help you keep your data secure, compliant, and protected. You can safely manage and protect your data so you can get back to business—without the security risks or regulatory fines.
When Should You Upgrade to Office 365?
Microsoft Office 2016 became available to Office 365 subscribers in July, 2015, but the permanently licensed version did not hit stores until September.
In other words, a subscription allows you to take advantage of the latest editions of the software. If you are still running a retail version of Office 2013 or earlier, it makes sense to change over to an Office 365 subscription now. However, if you have recently purchased the retail edition of Office 2016, you might want to wait until the next major edition is released.
Office 365 is the obvious choice for growing businesses that need maximum flexibility, particularly those which are in the process of replacing or upgrading their information technology infrastructures or need newer alternatives to dated software.
Being the industry-standard office suite in the business world, Office 365 is the perfect option for any business or organization with a multi-connected environment.
Considering the Alternatives
For some businesses, Office 365 might not be the best choice. Being a subscription model, it often works out costing more in the longer term than a one-time purchase. Unless your office productivity suite is core to your business operations and you need the large amount of online storage space included, the expense might not be worth it.
Other alternatives include the free but exclusively Web-based version of Office or the Mobile edition for smartphones and tablets. However, you will still need to sign up for a free Microsoft account to be able to access any of these services or apps. Standalone editions of Office 2016 are also available, but it seems likely that future editions will only be offered as part of an Office 365 subscription.
There are, of course, plenty of alternatives to Microsoft’s software. Among the best-known are Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice, both of which are open-source and available for free.
Final Words
Cloud computing and subscription-based software packages are undoubtedly becoming more popular to such an extent that they’re already dominating the world of IT in both homes and in businesses. Even the world’s leading operating system has changed its revenue model, with Windows 10 being offered as a constantly updated service. In the case of growing businesses, which need to prioritize critical factors such as security and customer support, it usually makes more sense to opt for subscription-based services providing software that is always kept up-to-date.
