Stay Productive – With or without the internet!

There are two groups of people that are afraid of using Microsoft Office 365 – even after all its success!

The first group is those business leaders whose companies are still using an older, on-premise, software version of the Microsoft suite.

Oh, there are any number of objections, but in the end, it comes down to control and access. They are hesitant to use Office 365 because they don’t quite trust “the cloud,” and they are afraid that they will lose continuous access to their documents, databases, and spreadsheets if they moved over to Office 365.

The second group of individuals is those that don’t understand how Office 365 functions. When they talk about “the cloud,” in their mind their documents are floating out there in cyberspace along with everyone else’s data. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Microsoft uses its state of the art, secure, geographically redundant data centers to store the data uploaded from Office 365 customers.

The other thing that this group fails to recognize is that the sync functions of Office 365 eliminate worries about losing internet connectivity. With Office 365, files can be created, edited, and stored without an internet connection. When you connect the next time, everything is automatically synced with your stored documents and the versions of documents that your employees have edited in collaboration with you.

Here’s the hard fact.

Office 365 is the global leader in office productivity software.

There’s a reason for how quickly Office 365 was accepted by the market.

It just works.

And…

People were getting sick of buying software updates every year or so to stay current.

Office 365’s subscription payment structure guarantees that you always have the most recent version of Office 365 – with all of the latest bells and whistles.

When faced with the opportunity to switch over to the cloud-based Office 365, the most pressing question that comes from business leaders is, “What if I don’t have an internet connection but still need to access my documents, spreadsheets, and databases to work?”

It’s a fair question.

Older cloud-based solutions were set up in such a way that people couldn’t work if the internet connection wasn’t there.

But that was then, and this is now.

Office 365 has perfected the balance between on computer and cloud storage services!

Microsoft has made Office 365 a kind of hybrid system that synchronizes so effortlessly that you enjoy the advantages of cloud-based flexibility without sacrificing the functionality that older Microsoft Office Suite users have enjoyed for decades.

The only thing you have to remember with Office 365 is this…

If you are going to do work away from your internet connection, just make sure that you have downloaded the document, spreadsheet, or database that you need before you go offline. Most of the time, however, this has already been done for you with Office 365’s file synchronization.

In addition to the advantages of synchronization for online/offline productivity, Office 365 delivers:

• A FULL RANGE OF OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS

Getting stuff done – in the office or on the road – has never been easier! Sure, you’ve used Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and other Microsoft Office Suite programs before, but Office 365 supercharges these essentials with seamless integration. With every new version of Office 365, efficiency becomes just a little easier to achieve.

• BUSINESS CLASS EMAIL FUNCTIONALITY

Aren’t you tired of doing business from your personal Gmail account? Sure, it worked when the company was smaller, but with more employees, it’s time to get more organized. Office 365’s business email solution works through Microsoft Outlook to give you the email security, archive compliance, and brand consistency you need for your entire team.

• CLOUD STORAGE AND FILE SHARING

We’ve already talked about the file synchronization functionality in Office 365. But have you considered how much more secure and simple it would be if all your files were in the same place? The storage capability of Office 365 was designed specifically to work perfectly with the Office 365 applications. This built-in efficiency saves time and eliminates the frustrations you feel when searching through your computer PLUS other consumer-grade file storage solutions to find the document that you want.

• ONLINE MEETING CAPABILITY

Your BIG ideas and important instructions to your team deserve a voice and video communications tool! Sure, you could send everyone a memo… But who reads those? Get everyone’s attention quickly and get your message to them effectively with Skype for Business! So much subtle information is lost in an email or text message. Using Skype for Business allows your team to see your facial expression, body language, and screen sharing. This function of Office 365 is especially useful for traveling or remote work environments.

• TECHNICAL SUPPORT

With a product that is as big and diverse as Office 365, you might need a little help from time to time. That’s exactly why Microsoft has built a technical support component into Office 365. Whether you need help setting things up for the very first time, want to explore what else Office 365 can do for you and your team, or have a troubleshooting question, Office 365 Technical Support is the answer.

• PRIVATE SOCIAL NETWORK

Sure, you can use your private Facebook profile to communicate with colleagues during the work day, but who wants to mix work with your off time social life? Added to that are the additional challenges of mixing in clients with everyone’s religious, political, and personal posts. As you can see, using your personal profiles to do work can become problematic. Office 365 has solved this by creating a workplace social environment that can stay consistent to your brand.

• FINANCIALLY BACKED SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

Ever wonder how good the promises of a company are when it comes to uptime and application availability? Sure, nearly everyone will give you the same line. It goes something like, “We deliver 99.999% uptime.” That’s easy to say, but how well do they back it up? Microsoft backs up its claims with not only its stellar reputation but also with a financial guarantee.

Want to know more about what a well implemented and strategically maintained Office 365 subscription could do for your business? Give the CTECH Consulting Group a call now at (403) 457-1478 or send an email to info@ctechgroup.net.