Microsoft Office 365 was put into beta testing last October and since that time the rumors have been flying over whether or not this full-steam move into the cloud would be successful for the IT juggernaut. After all there were minor controversies regarding the reliability of Business Productivity Online Services (Office 365’s predecessor), not to mention the fact that Microsoft is now contending directly with Google’s massively popular cloud-based productivity applications. The official launch of Office 365 was held last month on June 28th in New York City and was hosted by Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer.
So what exactly is Office 365? As Ballmer emphasized throughout the launch, it is “where Office meets the cloud.” Office 365 brings the globally utilized and enjoyed business productivity tools of the Office suite into the cloud, pairing it with cloud computing services that will enhance the all around collaborative abilities of any business regardless of industry or size.
So why should SMBs take notice of the now universally and easily accessible Office 365? SMBs should really consider this cloud migration on account of the immense promise Ballmer made to SMBs towards the end of the launch. Ballmer began by disclosing that the largest population to show early interest in Office 365 was the SMB segment: with more than 70% of the almost 200,000 beta testers being small-to-midsized businesses and organizations. He was not at all surprised by these findings. As Ballmer stated, “To compete, small and medium-sized businesses need an edge that doesn’t require a huge, up-front capital investment or complex IT system to manage and maintain. Starting today, Microsoft Office 365 will deliver on those promises.” Office 365 grants SMBs access to enterprise-level tools for only $6 per user per month when subscribing to the Office 365 professionals and small businesses plan (Plan P) which is perfect for companies with little to no IT staff and with 1-25 employees (although it will allow for up to 50 users).
Since 99.7% of the world’s employers are SMBs employing half of the world’s workforce, we have decided to focus specifically on Office 365’s Plan P as well as on Ballmer’s promise to SMBs throughout the world.
What is included in Plan P?
Office 365 Plan P is truly an innovative IT option for SMBs as it combines the powers of Office business applications and Microsoft servers, offering them together through the cloud as one comprehensive and cost- effective service subscription. Here are the specific applications and server capabilities that are included.
1. Microsoft Office Web Apps
Microsoft designed Office 365 with the intention of it being a simple migration for users by incorporating the tools that you are already familiar with. With Plan P you will have access to Office Web Apps including Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint. With these Web Apps you will be able to simultaneously work on documents in real-time with your colleagues as well as access them on-the- go with your mobile device through any browser, not just Internet Explorer.
2. Microsoft Exchange Server Online
Exchange Online provides cloud-based email, calendar and contact access as well as the most up-to-date antivirus and anti-spam solutions and unified messaging and archiving.
3. Microsoft SharePoint Server Online
SharePoint Online offers cloud-based sites for both internal and external use. With SharePoint online you can create team sites for sharing company information internally. You can also design, create and publish a professional website in minutes using an interface and ribbon toolbar as simple and familiar as Microsoft Word. SharePoint Online also includes social networking capabilities, helping you stay connected in this modern era of mobile and online business.
4. Microsoft Lync Server Online
Lync Online further enhances your communicative abilities with cloud-based instant messaging, presence settings and online meeting capabilities including voice and video conferencing.
What is not included in Plan P?
Plan P is pretty much all-inclusive regarding the needs of most SMBs, but so as there are no surprises during migration, here is what is not included.
1. Microsoft Office Professional Plus
Although the latest available version of Office Professional Plus is included in the Office 365 midsize businesses and enterprises plan (Plan E) it is not offered with Plan P. Some of the features you will miss out on in Professional Plus include the latest feature additions to Excel 2010 including Sparklines and Slicer that transform your vast amounts of data into easily understood visualized information and the features of PowerPoint 2010 which include the latest photo and video editing tools as well as Broadcast Slide Show which allows you to share presentations instantly, in real-time through a web-browser.
2. 24/7 IT-Level Support
While you do get 24/7 moderated community-based support from Microsoft with Plan P, only the enterprise-level plans of Office 365 offer 24/7 IT-level support over the phone, web or email.
A few notable features
Office 365 Plan P boasts many wonderful features geared towards optimizing the productivity, professional presence and communications agility of SMBs. Here are a few to get you started.
1. Unified communications through Outlook
With Plan P you have several, integrated methods to communicate with colleagues, partners, vendors and clients. You get 25 GB mailboxes for each user, the ability to send attachments up to 25 MB, as well as your own domain-based email addresses. Not only that, but Office 365 upgrades you from a simple email presence to a total office presence: email address, status, photo identification, IM capabilities and holistic contact card with instant access to audio or video call. What’s more, you no longer have to send documents through email as attachments, allowing all of the outdated versions to build up in your employee inboxes. Instead you can send documents via email as links within the email body that will take employees to the shared document in SharePoint, allowing everyone to have access to the most up-to-date versions of your important documents.
2. Co-authoring
With co-authoring, you can create and collaborate on documents simultaneously and in real-time through SharePoint Server Online.
3. Web conferencing
With Lync Server Online and Outlook you have total unified communications capabilities and that includes the ability to instantly set up a web conference with video and embedded PowerPoint presentations. What’s more: Outlook intelligently switches video based on the speaker.
4. Simplified scheduling
In Office 365 Exchange Online and Outlook help you to easily schedule meetings. You can share calendars, view them side-by-side with color-coded scheduling. You even get suggested meeting times from your calendar based on the availability of everyone involved.
5. Professional web presence
You can design, create and publish your own professional website in a few minutes with Office 365 Plan P. The interface and ribbon toolbar are as simple and familiar to use as Word or PowerPoint. You no longer have to pay a webmaster or lose valuable time waiting for website updates to take effect.
Benefits
There are many tremendous benefits to utilizing Office 365 in your business.
1. Productivity
The Office business applications that you are already familiar with can now be utilized through the cloud anywhere, anytime and on any device - PC, phone or web browser -making you and your colleagues all the more productive: not to mention some of the great new features of Office such as the easy-to-use ribbon interface that can further maximize your work day.
2. Collaboration
SharePoint Online increases the collaborative prowess of SMBs as they can now utilize co-authoring, allowing employees to work on documents simultaneously and in real-time from virtually anywhere.
3. Communication
Lync Online is the future of business unified communications. With Lync and Outlook in Office 365 you experience an integrated presence: not just an email presence but instant messaging, audio and video chat capabilities and web conferencing all allow you to access the people you need in the manner you both prefer in real-time.
4. Performance
Office 365’s service-level agreement guarantees 99.9% uptime that is financially backed by Microsoft. But Office 365 isn’t just promising industry-leading reliability, it is also boasting superior security with features including geo redundancy, disaster recovery, multiple security levels and an adhered to privacy policy.
5. Mobility
Office 365 can be used on the go – on your smartphone, laptop or any other mobile device of your choosing. With Office 365 you can access your email, documents, contacts and calendars from anywhere and at anytime.
6. Accessibility
Office 365 boasts large scale accessibility. Not only can you utilize the business productivity tools on your PC but Office 365 is compatible for Macs as well. And you can create your mobile office with a Windows Phone, iPhone, Android or BlackBerry – and access your web applications with any browser: Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, your choice.
7. Integration
With Office 365 all of the rich features of the Office applications and Microsoft servers have been integrated together with the intention of boosting the capabilities of your business. Outlook for example is no longer just an email experience powered by Exchange but is also a medium for document sharing and unified communications as it now possesses the functionality of both Lync and SharePoint Online.
8. Ease-of-use
From the administrator console (which takes approximately five minutes to set up) to the user interface (which takes about another minute of setup time) Office 365 is completely user friendly. The user homepage, for example, lists all of the functions of Office 365 with simple links to your email, calendar, contacts and documents.
9. Flexibility
With Office 365 your IT administrators can easily decide and apply user access rights as they see fit.
10. Cost
At just $6 per user per month, Office 365 Plan P is not only completely affordable but predictable (no hidden fees) and flexible (it is a pay-as-you-go subscription service).
11. IT Simplicity
With Office 365 there is no need for you to invest in an IT team or complex IT infrastructure. Service and system are all delivered through the cloud. You are even privy to 24/7 moderated community-based support.
12. Familiarity
Office 365 delivers the applications and interfacing you are already familiar with.
Case Studies
During the launch Ballmer presented several case studies demonstrating the tremendous benefits Office 365 has already bestowed upon certain SMBs that utilized its functionality during the beta testing phase. Two of the best examples were Traveler’s Haven and Wise Group.
1. Traveler’s Haven
Traveler’s Haven is a relocation and temporary housing company based in Denver, Colorado. They are estimated to work with over 5,000 families this year and are only a company of 35 employees, yet they predict that Office 365 will save their company $100,000 a year in IT expenses and cut out 30 hours of work per day across the company.
2. Wise Group
Wise Group is a job placement firm in Glasgow, Scotland. With Office 365 they plan on retiring over 60 of their servers.
Our recommendation
If you are an SMB with little to no IT staff, budget concerns and a team maxing out at 25 employees, we highly recommend the migration to Office 365 Plan P, especially if you are already using Microsoft servers, Windows-based workstations and/or smartphones and is familiar with Office business applications. Businesses with more complex needs such as message archiving for legal compliance with eDiscovery should consider the Office 365 Plan E for midsize businesses and enterprises.
We also recommend Office 365 migration services which we provide as both a Microsoft Certified Partner and Microsoft Small Business Specialist. Our migration services include deploying Office 365 to end-user computers, setting up the Office 365 environment, migrating all existing email infrastructure to Office 365 and providing all relevant training and documentation.
If you have any questions regarding Office 365 Plan P (or about Office 365 Plan E or the education plan) or if you have compatibility concerns and wish to inquire about system requirements please feel free to contact Bryley today. Call us at 978.562.6077 or email Sales@Bryley.com.
References
Microsoft Office 365 Homepage www.office365.com
Microsoft News Center www.microsoft.com/presspass/
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