High productivity levels are essential for strong business growth. And, now that time has proven cloud IT secure, even highly regulated organisations are enjoying the increased productivity that comes with Microsoft’s cloud service, Office 365. But what if your business is ensconced in old-school GroupWise for email, contacts and calendar? How do you appease users who fear they may lose out in the migration to Exchange Online?
The fear: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Scientists have linked the “bird in the hand” effect with what psychologists call the “endowment effect”, where we overvalue what we have and undervalue what we don’t have. Where this occurs in business and trade, the economic repercussions can be devastating. At best productivity and growth slump, at worst, the life is squeezed out of them.
For users of GroupWise who suspect they’ll lose out in a move to Microsoft Office 365 Exchange Online, here are eight common myths that we can release into the depths of yesteryear. While a couple of these arguments may’ve worked against Exchange on-premises, for Exchange Online all arguments are now void.
With Exchange…
Myth #1: there’s no future-proofing or infrastructure flexibility
With cloud services, such as Exchange Online, this issue becomes irrelevant. The very nature of cloud services means your solution is hosted in the cloud so infrastructure, operating systems and servers are no longer your concern. Instead, you can access Exchange Online using a web browser on any computer. Mobile apps allow seamless access to mail on any computer with an internet connection, or from multiple devices like tablets and smartphones, including Windows Phone, iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices.
Myth #2: it’s often difficult to upgrade
With Exchange Online you’re automatically given the latest software versions and security updates available. Not only is it not difficult, but you don’t even notice it going on behind the scenes. You just get on with your work. It’s an enterprise-level solution that requires little investment and management overheads. Instead, you get all the capabilities of Exchange Server without the need to buy, upgrade or manage hardware – you just pay a monthly subscription.
Myth #3: you won’t get cross-product collaboration
You can, if you want to, simply migrate your email and not your calendar or contacts. Office 365 will work regardless. That said, it makes more sense to move calendars and contacts to the cloud so users can access them securely wherever they are, exactly as they would in the office. So they’ll have access to global address lists, tasks or shared calendars to schedule meetings, book meeting rooms or other resources.
Myth #4: you’ll need lots of storage space
Exchange Online gives you 50GB mailboxes and the ability to send messages up to 150MB in size, so your staff can always be productive and part of the team, wherever they are. In the Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 Plans, Exchange Online includes archiving and legal hold capabilities, plus unlimited inbox storage to meet compliance needs. Data loss prevention (DLP) policies and digital rights management also help make sure sensitive data isn’t emailed outside your business.
Myth #5: you’ll miss out on a home view in Outlook
Like GroupWise home view, Office 365’s SharePoint acts as a personal productivity cockpit. Users can design it to work the way they want it to, pulling in web pages, data feeds and teaming folders. Furthermore, they can share and collaborate on documents, and access them securely from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Myth #6: you don’t know who’s accepted an appointment
Exchange Online has a feature that allows you to see exactly who has accepted or declined meetings, marking their response in the calendared meeting.
Myth #7: you can’t retract a sent email
Just as GroupWise would allow you to delete an email before it gets opened, so can Exchange Online; Message Recall will delete the email from the recipient’s inbox. To avoid a rash ‘send’ in the first place, you can also set up a delayed send rule, say for one minute, which could be just about enough time for a moment of better judgement.
Myth #8: your most used folders and contacts aren’t at your fingertips
Again, untrue. In Outlook, you can set up your ‘favourite’ folders. And Office 365’s Skype for Business pushes your most frequently contacted associates to the top.
If your business is no longer constrained by purely office-based work, productivity could increase by 30 to 40 per cent, according to research published by Microsoft. Being able to do business anywhere is a key capability for 2016 that Office 365 addresses with bells on. Here are 10 ways Office 365 keeps your business mobile and increases productivity.
“Work is something you do, not somewhere you go.” ~ Laurie Coots
1. Office 365 is in the cloud – with OneDrive hosting service
Gone with the wind is the need for a physical onsite server or a contract with an offsite host. With Office 365, Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud hosting service gives you 24/7/365 access to business email and projects. You can be seriously competitive – ready and able to respond to any request and meet any deadline.
Never again worry about office closures or operational interruptions or incidents
2. Data is encrypted and highly secure, meeting industry standards and regulations
On top of encryption, your data is stored on Microsoft’s physically secure servers, which are also protected with continuous threat management and security monitoring. Additionally, Office 365’s controls are approved by EU data privacy authorities. In 2014, Microsoft became the first cloud provider to receive approval from the Article 29 Working Party, an independent advisory body established by the European Parliament to focus on data protection. The ruling confirmed that Microsoft meets the high standards of EU data protection legislation so, regardless of where data is stored, it’s protected to a standard approved by EU authorities.
3. It’s accessible on multiple devices, anywhere
Each Office 365 user can sync their license to up to five different devices, including any PC/Mac, and any iOS, Android or Windows device. Video-conference from a laptop in your sitting room, edit a presentation on your tablet on the plane or check up on emails at your favourite coffee house.
4. You always have the latest version of applications and software
Office 365 has all your old favourites such as Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook. It also has SharePoint, where you can manage projects, share documents and collaborate with your team – all in real time.
5. You get a serious amount of storage for mailboxes and files
No longer need you worry if a ginormous file will clog your inbox of if your physical exchange server is approaching capacity. With Office 365 cloud storage, you get exchange mailbox storage of 50 GB, and one TB of file storage. Store and back up all of your large, critical files online and access them anywhere.
Office 365 also increases business productivity because of these five awesome things.
6. Communication is sophisticated and fast
Keep your teams up-to-date of everyone’s whereabouts and activities with shared calendars and instant messaging. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can all keep in touch.
7. Teams can collaborate on projects with SharePoint
Be confident that you and your team are always working on the latest SharePoint versions of ongoing projects. You can:
- Plan and monitor projects using shared calendars, task lists and other tools
- Design and automate workflows
- Develop your own business tools like a company survey, blog or even Intranet
- Connect and create with SharePoint’s co-authoring and video-conference features
8. Social: Yammer and Skype for Business increase employee engagement and productivity
If you want your employees to bond and even become friends, Office 365’s Skype for Business (formerly Lync) and Yammer, a private social network designed for businesses, will help do just that. With increased communication on a more social level, employees can enjoy a stronger sense of belonging, which is proven to improve employee engagement and productivity. We can personally vouch for that at Cloud Direct, where we make great use of Yammer and Skype for Business. Since we introduced it to the business, employee engagement has increased and remained consistently high.
9. You choose the plan that suits your business
Pick from a selection of Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription plans and customise features to serve your business size and needs.
10. ROI: you save on travel costs, IT support and software – and gain in productivity
In terms of basic cost savings, Office 365 saves you spending money on hardware, third-party software, additional IT support and unnecessary travel costs. A 2014 HBR-Verizon survey report showed that, of companies that had moved email and data to the cloud, nearly two thirds (61 per cent) recorded increased employee productivity.
To stay competitive on today’s changeable business waters, we’ve got to sail very tight ships. Businesses need to be able to extend their reach and grow efficiently, which means keeping a keen eye on costs. This blog outlines how Office 365 can help businesses trim costs to beat the weather and win the race in five easy manoeuvres.
With Office 365 you can…
- Lower your costs and hang on to your capital because with Office 365 you DON’T need to invest in:
- Server hardware for Office 365 applications (such as Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business and OneDrive)
- SSL certificates
- Upgraded network infrastructure to support new servers
- Basic level backup and disaster recovery
- Basic anti-spam, anti-virus or security software
- Server space, power and cooling costs
Instead, Microsoft has all that covered for you. And if you’re a highly regulated business that requires the highest levels of security and business continuity, we can help with that, too. We’re ISO 20000 and ISO 27001 accredited and have been helping highly secure businesses stay that way for years.
- Get the latest tools without CapEx investment
- Get access to the latest versions of the Microsoft productivity tools automatically, with no CapEx investment
- Get automatically upgraded to the latest server products (Exchange, Skype for Business etc)
- Avoid over-spending on IT hardware and software
- No need to invest and over spend for hardware or licencing capacity that you don’t need
- Increase/decrease your monthly licensing according to your business requirements – this helps you align your IT costs with your forecasted usage
- Control your costs
- You can scale your costs as your business changes – for example you may need to ramp things up August through December, and then decrease licenses come January
- Great for businesses with seasonal or temporary workers
- Spend less, get more
- If you’re looking to move to Office 365 we can offer you free email migration until the end of March 2015
- If you’re an existing Office 365 user and would like a few hours of consultation from our professional services team, please get in touch
Do business faster and better with cloud technology
20 years ago a ‘rush order’ meant overnight delivery. After-hours calls were recorded on an answering machine. And a growth strategy was measured in years.
Today, business moves faster. Communication is immediate and 24/7. Innovation happens overnight and anything is possible. Yet, it can also feel overwhelming. How can a small-medium business possibly keep pace?
This is where the right technology enters the picture. The advances that are transforming the business world are the same tools that you can use to transform your business. With cloud services and mobile devices, you can quickly adapt to change and expand your business efficiently, without expanding your budget.
Prepare your business for growth
At the point when your business is ready to grow, you can’t afford for your technology to hold you back. When a customer knocks on your virtual door to buy your product or service, you need to open it – immediately.
Buying and setting up new hardware can take weeks. But in the cloud, growth can take minutes. With Office 365, you can quickly equip new employees with the tools that they need without a lengthy deployment process. Plus, with per-user licensing, you can meet the demands of your workforce, pay only for what you use and support hundreds of different mobile devices.
Adjust to changes in customer demand
Need more storage? More support for your applications? Maybe you need to address seasonal fluctuations rather than long-term growth.
With a cloud hosting solution, such as Microsoft Azure, you can use services and apps – and add new ones – on an as-needed basis. For example, you can quickly expand file storage and apps such as order processing, stock and payroll in late August to handle a busy season from September to December; and just as easily reduce capacity in January to conserve costs. Instead of paying year-round for technology that is often underused, you pay only for what you’re actually using in a given month. And there are no costly delays or large capital investments when you change capacity, be it using Azure to host mobile apps or implementing a new customer service.
Expand beyond your walls
You can also use technology to expand your reach, work faster and be more productive.
Start with your employees’ devices. Are they all running Windows? If not, your workers might be wasting time struggling with different experiences across their devices. Standardising on one platform, such as Windows, will improve employee productivity, while allowing for broad device choice, be it based on personal preference or job function.
What about the applications running on your devices? Are they cloud-based? Move to Office 365 and your employees will still get the same Office experience that they’re used to, whichever device they use, whether it happens to be an iPad or an Android-based device.
And you can easily manage these devices and provide more secure mobile access to company data, through cloud-based device and PC management solutions like Microsoft Intune and Office 365.
In a nutshell
We know that the world is moving faster than ever. With the right technologies in place, you can grow effectively, respond quickly to seasonal fluctuations and outpace the competition.
Cloud computing growth is set to continue into 2016, according to new findings.
A report published by Technavio predicted that ability of cloud-based solutions to outsource work to third-party organisations will help to boost take-up of cloud technologies.
However, the cloud computing market still remains quite fragmented and this is mainly due to the presence of numerous small, medium, and large players, which are providing more innovative solutions to the market all the time.
The research also predicted that in the US, the cloud computing market will grow at the compound annual growth rate of around 24 per cent by 2020.
In the teaching sector in particular, the report claimed that cloud computing plays a vital role in reducing the costs of building and maintaining the infrastructure associated with the traditional form of teaching.
When it comes to cloud technology, the public sector will be responsible for the majority (66 per cent) of the total market share by 2020.
Rising concern among UK businesses for the security of UK and EU data transferred and stored in the U.S. came to a head last week when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) declared the EU-US Safe Harbour Framework invalid.Safe Harbour was originally designed as a ‘streamlined and cost-effective’ way for US firms to transfer data from Europe without breaking EU law. In the wake of the Snowden allegations, however, the EC J has ruled Safe Harbour invalid.
While Cloud Direct customers have nothing to worry about (all of our data is securely stored within the EU and bound by strict ISO and DPA standards), we thought it worth outlining what the sinking of the Safe Harbour agreement means for UK businesses that DO have customer data stored in the U.S.Three reasons why UK businesses probably don’t want their customer data stored in the U.S.
- U.S. companies can no longer self-certifyThe safe harbour agreement that was made between the EU and the US government essentially promised to protect EU citizens’ data if transferred by American companies to the US. All the US company needed to do was “self-certify” that they would protect EU data. This agreement has now been declared invalid by the European Court of Justice.
- U.S. businesses must now seek to strike EU model clausesSince US businesses can no longer rely on self-certification to authorise the transfer of data outside Europe, they must now incorporate the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses – commonly referred to as ‘model clauses’.
- A new Safe Harbour agreement could take some timeWhile the good news is that an updated Safe Harbour agreement – called Safe Harbour 2.0 – is being drawn up, the bad news is that talks between the EU and the US have been ongoing for around two years.
If you’re thinking about taking the leap to cloud services, you want to be confident you’re doing the right thing for your business. Since 2003, we’ve migrated numerous organisations to the cloud. Find out about some of their experiences. This blog looks at:
- IT security
- Disaster recovery and business continuity
- Time and cost savings
- Quality of service and people
- Remote working
- Other cloud IT providers
Peter Howlett, CFO, Pactum Asset Management, said:
About our people
“I fully entrust 90% of our technology to Cloud Direct. They’re all true professionals who actually understand what you’re talking about. Right from the start they’ve been open and have got straight down to problem-solving. They’re really helpful.”
“In our size of a firm, you aren’t normally going to have cloud IT specialists. Even if you do have an IT person, they’ll be a software person who knows a little about hardware and infrastructure – but they won’t be able to touch what Cloud Direct can do for your business.”
About security
“Frankly, any small or medium business that isn’t considering cloud is off their head. (Peter doesn’t mince his words!) People need to get over any misplaced feelings of a lack of security. They need to come to terms with losing a degree of control. Once people get over their fears, their businesses can really benefit from packaged cloud.”
About our technology
“They give us proper remote access, truly integrated across our business, telephone and IT systems. The processing power of the servicers Cloud Direct provides far exceeds that of even relatively high spec PCs. They’ve even integrated us with Bloomberg. They’re streets ahead of the competition.”
About saving money
“Without a doubt it’s cheaper. Especially if you consider the costs of upgrades, processing and software – it’s dramatically cheaper.”
About saving time
“More than anything, Cloud Direct’s service takes 90% of the responsibility for IT out of my hands. Before Cloud Direct, IT management would suck up all of my time. If something were to go wrong, I could easily spend two days sorting it out. Cloud Direct takes away the big unknown from a time perspective and puts the IT responsibility firmly into the hands of people who truly understand it.”
About the competition
“No-one could give us everything we wanted – until we found Cloud Direct. Not only did Cloud Direct say they could do everything – but they actually could. I was really surprised to discover that our incumbent IT service provider – a major player in London – was unable to deliver more than around a third of what we wanted. My research results for other providers was equally sparse.”
John de-Pulford, IT manager, London & Continental Railways (LCR):
About our people
“Cloud Direct’s people are enthusiastically innovative. They’re always prepared to go the extra mile.”
About working from anywhere
“As long as employees have internet access, they can work from anywhere.”
Steve Pickering, practice manager, McParland Williams
About our technology
“One of the best technology investment decisions we’ve made.”
About our service
“It’s a service that really does do exactly what it says on the tin. I’m so delighted that I’ve recommended Cloud Direct to many of my commercial clients.”
Sam Carew, IT manager, Efficio International Consulting
About remote access
“We recently had a situation where an employee in Belgium lost his machine on a routine business trip. Fortunately he was able to use a web browser and securely log into the web portal and retrieve files.”
If you’d like to find out more about what our customers think, please visit the ‘case studies’ section of our ‘Resources’ page. You can find it here: Case Studies CTA
With businesses employing the use of a vast array of computer technology, it can become a challenge to keep on top of each and every IT process. If you are struggling to get to grips with the many programmes and services your company requires, it may be advisable to consider outsourcing to a professional team. The dedicated specialists here at Cloud Direct are able to work efficiently, offering a range of IT Services in London to give you the support you need.
The size of your company will determine what level of support is necessary, so read on as we take you through the possibilities for small, medium and large businesses.
Small (Less than 50 Employees)
Smaller organisations will most likely not have a fully-fledged IT department in place.
Medium (50-250 Employees)
Whilst some medium sized companies will hire an in-house IT team, others prefer to outsource due to the difference in cost, as a full time IT employee usually has a salary of £35,000-£50,000 a year. There are many other advantages of outsourcing your IT, most notably the fact that rather than just one individual taking charge, we can offer a selection of professionals with experience in different processes, so no matter what you need, you are guaranteed a high level of service.
Large (250+ Employers)
Outsourcing for large businesses can be highly advantageous as operations such as network management, helpdesk and server operations can be dealt with by us, leaving your IT department to concentrate on other technological procedures and developments.
The day to day running of your business can be greatly aided by many things, from outsourcing your IT for maximum efficiency to calling upon professional shredding services London that ensures confidentiality at all times.
Moving your in-house servers and fixed line phones to the cloud is today more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if’. More so, it’s becoming increasingly urgent in organisations where in-house IT is holding back business growth and even putting the business at risk. However, many organisations see cloud migration itself as risky, complex and expensive. But it needn’t be. It doesn’t have to be hard to say goodbye to in-house IT.
If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew, just go right along and you’ll start happening too.
― Dr. Seuss
In 2013, more than 70% of companies surveyed by IDC were using, planning, or researching cloud strategies – and that figure continues to increase.
But here’s the bad news. Bloor Research gauges cloud migration failure at a shocking 38%. Added to that the confusing melée of cloud vendors out there, and no wonder small and medium sized organisations are concerned about how they can achieve successful cloud migration. Especially when they usually have fewer resources and more at risk than large enterprises.
When cloud migration becomes urgent
In 10 years, we’ve helped numerous organisations migrate to the cloud – simply, securely and successfully. And we’ve grown to understand the pains and concerns of our customers.
So today, I can share three signs that should shout loud and clear to you that your business needs cloud migration – and fast.
How to know when you’re ready for cloud migration
1. Your business has outgrown its in-house IT infrastructure
You’ll know that you’ve outgrown your in-house infrastructure when you see evidence of the following:
Physical signs
Your server room is a mess. It’s cramped and hot. There’s quite literally no room for your IT infrastructure to grow and meet your future business needs. You think that the only way you can grow is by major reconfiguration of people and office arrangements.
Rising cost of IT per head
Your business needs to flex according to projects and cycles. But regardless, cost per capita should remain constant. In your business, this isn’t happening. And whether that’s because you’re running more applications, dealing with security breaches or down to cost-cutting, you need to address this.
Merger or similar change
The total cost of integrating your disparate onsite IT systems and networks far outweighs the costs of moving multiple entities to hosted desktop and VoIP.
No flexibility for data
Your IT isn’t allowing for the peaks and troughs in data processing that your business demands.
It’s all too complex
The introduction of new services and applications is creating an ever-growing number of silos and blind spots across the business. Hopes for future change and the desire for an agile business are fading. Fast.
2. Your in-house time-bomb: Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS)
Organisations that run on Microsoft Small Business Servers (SBS) 2003/07 are most likely massively feeling the restrictive headache of old world IT. These old servers are poorly equipped to deal with today’s exponential data growth or adoption of new lines of business applications. And your businesses is poorly equipped to deal with the licencing restrictions of SBS.
But that’s not half the story.
Microsoft is pulling support for its small business servers. That means you’ll no longer receive new security updates, hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, or online technical content updates.
With what is effectively now an insecure server, all your data, applications and processes are highly vulnerable to attack. At risk are your email, document storage and business applications. This means your Sage Accounts, CAD Drawings or legal case management software, for example, are all exposed. Yes, your server will still function, but basically it’s a ticking time bomb. And if a vulnerability were to be exploited, all businesses could be exposed to attack.
53% of small-medium business leaders consider growth their number one priority for 2015
If you’re running on SBS, your business needs to migrate to new platforms and technologies as soon as possible. Security risks aside, small businesses, more than most, recognise the need to grow – the need to be agile and adaptable. In a September survey of 232 business and IT leaders, we found that 53% of respondents’ number one priority for 2015 is business growth.
A cloud-based infrastructure hits the jackpot when it comes to allowing business growth. It allows a business to scale. It’s reliable. It’s affordable. It can be packaged according to industry needs.
Of course, each organisation is different; it may be that some areas of the business are left in-house. However the simplest, most agile and secure solution to the SBS problem, is to migrate your Exchange server to Office 365 and of all your other SBS components to hosted desktop (desktop-as-a-service – or DaaS).
3. You need to improve communications and productivity
To compete in business, you’ve got to have speed, mobility and security. But does your in-house infrastructure support the technologies required to function competitively? Are your people able to communicate and collaborate quickly and productively no matter where – or when – they are? Do you have a BYOD policy in place so that your business and customer data is secure if your employees are using their personal devices for work? Is your data encrypted and backed up? Do you have a disaster recovery solution in place?
These are issues that can all be addressed with cloud solutions. And they all rely on the availability of your critical business systems – your email, databases, file stores and business applications. Your business can’t afford poor availability and bandwidth to hold you back from these new working methods.