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Have You Considered Office 365?

Have You Considered Office 365?

As many companies and workers are embracing mobile computing and working on multiple devices, it may be time to take a fresh look at how email and documents are accessed. For these workers it is worth considering Office 365 for email and Office licensing solutions. There is a lot of information to be aware of when considering this option. There are many versions of Office 365 and not all implementations of it are equal.

Let’s start with the basics: What is Office 365? It is Microsoft’s cloud based email solution at its core. Let’s stop here and examine this core solution for its benefits and drawbacks. With Office 365 being a cloud-based service, it means your email will reside at Microsoft’s various data centers and not locally on an in-house Exchange server. This brings up the question of security. Is your email more secure in house or hosted by Microsoft? Some will argue that Microsoft is a bigger target and therefore your data is more at risk. The counter argument to this is that Microsoft has the resources to put into protecting your data. Statistically, small to medium sized businesses are three times more often compromised by hacking attempts for the simple reasons that there are more of them and they have less effective security measures in place. Hackers will often bypass well-secured infrastructures to find easier prey.

Putting the security issue aside, email is a good fit for the cloud. The cloud provides high availability for critical applications, in this case Microsoft Office 365 guarantees 99.9% uptime. In today’s world, access to email is critical. Lost email means lost business.

Email also needs to be available on a variety of platforms, such as mobile devices as well as office computers. Office 365 provides expanding mobility with Office-to-go so Microsoft Office documents can be opened on a mobile device. Access to data on mobile devices in becoming increasingly important as mobile devices continue to outsell traditional desktops.

In addition to the core email service, an Office 365 subscription offers other benefits. One of these is Microsoft Office licensing. The Software-as-a-Service model replaces the upfront expense of buying Microsoft Office with a monthly subscription. As long as the subscription is valid, your access to the software will continue AND be updated as newer releases come out- no more need to buy new versions every few years to stay current. The subscription also allows you to install the Office Software on up to five devices. If you have a work computer, home computer and a tablet, all can download the Office software and use the programs within the license agreement.

Microsoft One-Drive for Business is an additional feature that provides cloud storage for documents. There are limitations of One-Drive but it will provide you with up to one terabytes of storage space for documents in Microsoft’s cloud.

A final consideration when deciding if Office 365 is right for your business is whether or not you require email backup and/or archiving. This is often overlooked as a consideration during the analysis but it an important point to consider. Colden Company can provide solutions for backup and archiving particularly if you are working in a regulated industry where email legal holds are common or at least occasionally required.

As with most technology these days, there are many choices to consider with Office 365. There are email only options, Office Licensing options, and many business class options which should be thoroughly reviewed to make the right choice for your business. This is where Colden Company can help. We are experts in navigating the complexity of options, choosing the proper solution and implementing it on-time and on-budget.

To get the process started, contact Colden Company at 888-600-4560, email us, or see us on Facebook or Twitter.







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