LAST UPDATED: 3/15/2022
Microsoft Office gives your employees the ability to collaborate and communicate efficiently, providing your business with more flexibility and productivity. At Bit-Wizards, our Managed IT Services team recommends Microsoft products for their enhanced security, ease of use, and scalability. Migrating to Microsoft Office is a great place to start for a small business owner or anyone looking to upgrade their organization’s tech systems.
You are probably already familiar with Word, Excel, and some other common applications that come with an Office for Business subscription. But when you begin using Microsoft Office software, you want to make sure you are getting the most from all applications and features to maximize your investment. That’s why we’ve noted our top tips to get the most from your Microsoft Office subscription.
Manage everything
Microsoft can assist with all your business productivity needs, allowing you to send meeting invitations in Outlook, create first drafts in Word, and check in with colleagues using Teams. Knowing and utilizing all the applications available to you is the best way to get the most out of your Microsoft 365 plan. Ensuring the applications are implemented correctly will also enhance your management and overall productivity.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes access to Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and more. These applications allow you to create files, share, collaborate, plan, and communicate through a set of unified tools.
More security
Microsoft 365 applications include built-in security, allowing you to rest easy knowing your company data and files are safe. Office 365 Business also offers additional security and threat protection through multi-factor authentication, data back-up.
You can secure devices remotely and even wipe all company data from a device if necessary. This is a great way to avoid getting stabbed in the back by a disgruntled employee or a laptop that slips into the wrong hands.
Microsoft Office 365 is HIPAA compliant, holding specific enterprise licenses and following high privacy standards. Keep in mind, Microsoft Office 365 Business is not HIPAA compliant.
.aspx?width=598&height=398)
Back that work up
With SharePoint’s collaborative benefits, your business can also create website portals to share documents and information within your team or with customers. SharePoint continually syncs your files to the cloud, so no matter what happens, you know your business data is safe in Microsoft's highly secure and stable cloud.
In addition to SharePoint, each user also has access to OneDrive. OneDrive allows you to store important individual files securely. There is a difference between OneDrive and SharePoint. SharePoint is for everyone in the business to share and collaborate. OneDrive is for individual users or one person to use for their everyday work needs.
Another useful feature that people miss in SharePoint is the Versioning feature. Gone are the days of forgetting to hit save and losing all your data. So long as your document is in SharePoint, your documents are saved automatically, and SharePoint keeps all versions of that saved while you work.
Team collaboration and communication
SharePoint is included in the Microsoft Office file storage and sharing options, allowing you to use cloud-based technology to access files remotely and work collaboratively. Additionally, users within the same organization can easily share files, work together, and share their changes. Administrators can also limit file sharing for HR documents or sensitive company data.
Microsoft Teams (included with Microsoft Office 365) allows you to easily place a video call to a colleague with a simple button click. Microsoft Teams can be the hub of your internal business communications with messaging, voice and video calls, meetings, and integration with SharePoint, allowing you to collaborate on documents and share files. If Microsoft Office 365 is the heart of your business software, then Teams is the lifeblood that keeps everything moving smoothly.
.aspx?width=598&height=398)
Work from Anywhere
Have you ever sat down on the couch only to realize you left an important email in a draft? Microsoft’s Office mobile applications are about to change your life!
Office Mobile includes free versions of everything Office offers but at your fingertips in free (yes, free) mobile apps. Microsoft’s Office Online also allows you to work from any web browser. Using your business credentials, your team can easily log in and work remotely to get work done.
Save money & scale
Avoid buying additional servers or cloud infrastructure services by keeping it all in one place. Microsoft 365 saves you money by cutting down on hardware costs and keeping your subscription streamlined with a simple payment structure.
As your business changes and grows, your systems and software need to grow with you. Microsoft 365 is built to do just that. Pay for the features you want and upgrade whenever you need more as your business expands.
Improve Productivity
Gone are the days of having Proposal-v1 in the same folder as Proposal-v400 and needing to make sure everyone works on the same document. Save time and sanity with the file-sharing features built into Microsoft 365. Sharing calendars, managing multiple inboxes in one place, and utilizing Teams messaging allows your team to communicate more clearly and waste less time going back-and-forth in emails.
At the end of the day, Microsoft 365 will improve business productivity, whether you work remotely or in the office. For more information on individual Microsoft Office 365 programs, see some of our related articles:
From integration to migration and even consulting, our Office 365 experts know how to plan and execute a smooth move to the cloud. If you're interested in setting up Microsoft Office for your business, get a free evaluation from Bit-Wizards now.