We often get asked about Office 365 and how it differs from the well-known suite of Microsoft Office products – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook. The simple answer is that it’s a high-octane version of those old favorites, updated for an internet connected world.
Our Office Productivity Team at Connect2Geek.com spends their days and nights working on ways to help our clients boost their productivity and get the most out of their technology. Office 365 is a big part of their playbook and one that can make a huge difference for your day-to-day business.
In this blog, we’re going to give you the lowdown on all the burning questions about this Microsoft product…
- What is it?
- How does it work?
- Why do I want it?
- Do I still get Word, Excel, and the other Microsoft programs?
By the end you should know enough, that you could probably give your own talk about why it’s a great tool for boosting office productivity.
What is Office 365?
Microsoft office has imprinted itself forever on the personal computer world. It is the first software for writing, making spreadsheets, and creating presentations that most of us remember using at our first jobs. Office 1.0 was released at the advent of the computer age, back in 1990, and we’ve never looked back.
According to Recode, as of just 2 years ago, Microsoft held 95 percent of the enterprise productivity suite software market. That’s pretty impressive! And in the 5+ years since their 21st century upgrade, Office 365, came on the scene, it’s sales have been gaining steadily over the older Office version.
In a nutshell, Office 365 is a huge upgrade to the MS Office products you’re using to using and it wraps them all up in a platform meant to help you communicate and connect both internally with your team and externally with your customers.
Yes! You still get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook!
It includes all the favorite programs that you’re using to using, and adds a few more that help you stay connected and mobile. It also includes file storage and management so no more wondering whose computer has the latest copy of the sales figure spreadsheet.
Here’s a rundown of what you get:
Programs You Know and Love:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Outlook
- Access
Awesome New Stuff:
- OneNote, for multi-user collaboration of notes, drawings and more
- Exchange, for keeping your mail and calendars in sync… always
- OneDrive, keep your files organized and accessible
- SharePoint, for mobile tools and team collaboration
- Microsoft Teams, take your office virtual with chats and online meetings
- Skype for Business, meet clients in Beijing and Argentina on the same day
- Yammer, for your own personal company social network
How Does Office 365 Work?
You can download and install your software just like usual on your desktop and laptop or access it online. And now, you can access Word, Excel and more from your smart phone or tablet too.
The Office 365 platform is a subscription plan that includes access to all the programs and services mentioned above, and is paid for on a per user basis. You can add or remove people anytime, flexible and easy.
Our team at Connect2Geek.com makes the whole process simple. We can get you set up with Office 365 in a flash, and teach your team how to access all the new collaborative tools, and even work with you on an office workflow that makes your productivity skyrocket.
Why Do I Need Office 365 (like, Right Now)?
Connection and collaboration are the main reasons you’ll want (and need) Office 365. It opens up a whole new world of communication between your team and with your customers that streamlines your workflow and is designed to save time and money.
Did you know? According to Our Social Times, 97% of companies say they can service more clients more efficiently with collaboration software.
Is your office drowning in email? Internal collaboration tools can decrease email volume by 30%. Imagine the time savings from 30% less emails to read through and multiply that by the number of staff at your office!
Your Office Comes With You
Don’t you hate when you want to work on a Word doc a home but you forgot to email it to yourself? Well, that’s no longer an issue! Your Word file can be saved to the cloud, accessible from any of your devices at anytime. Just open it, work on it from home, then save the updated version and its there for you when you’re back at the office (or anywhere!).
This also means you have the flexibility to find team members that live anywhere, because your office is everywhere. Your team can now interact by video conference, chat, and share and comment on documents virtually in real-time.
Customers No Longer Have to Be Local
Office 365’s Skype for Business is an excellent way to expand your client base. You can easily meet with customers from across town or across the world with clear video and voice. You can even consult on a project on the other coast by connecting via smart phone for a virtual view of the situation.
Online meeting tools also allow you to have customers book meetings with you online that go automatically into your calendar. No more looking through sticky notes to find the who, where, and when of that important conference call.
Smart File Management and Sharing
Do you have 5 different versions of your latest marketing brochure, all saved on a different computer? Which is the one with all those recent updates?
With the collaborative tools of Office 365, your staff can draft documents faster and ensure you get everyone’s input, whether they’re on the road or in the next cubical. All your files stay in a single secure online location, so no one has to wonder where that latest draft went.
Call Connect2Geek.com for an Office 365 Tour
There are so many awesome things you can do with Office 365 that we’ve only touched on a few. Why not call us today for a free Office 365 tour? We’ll answer all your questions and tell you exactly what this popular platform can do for you and your business.