Everyone knows what Office 365 is, but are you aware of all the benefits of having it in place? Office 365 is more than just Word on the go. It’s a full suite of cloud-based applications to help you increase productivity and collaboration within your business.

Businesses that operate in the cloud will typically see a 33% increase in revenue. Discover how as we explore eight benefits of Office 365.

1. Over 150% ROI

Everyone likes to see a return on investment, right? According to Forrester’s, businesses that implement Office 365 are likely to see more than 150% ROI. Office 365 can provide your business with the ability to save on technology, mobility, compliance costs by eliminating hardware. Say goodbye to servers and you’ll see an instant decrease on energy and the server cost. Whilst moving to the cloud costs money, you’ll see a much higher ROI. There’s never been a better time to move your office online.

2. Have all the tools your business needs to work more efficiently

Office 365 sets your business up with the tools it needs to achieve fearless growth.

Some of the tools included:

• Office suite. This compiles of some of the best Microsoft applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Skype for Business and OneNote.
• Exchange online. This will include your email and calendar.
• SharePoint. An online web portal for your business to store, share and collaborate on documents within different teams.
• Yammer is your one-stop-shop for company social networking.
• OneDrive is a cloud file storage solution for your business.
• Power BI is a business intelligence tool that will provide you with new insights to make smart decisions.

3. Access your office anywhere, anytime

You can now take your office with you wherever you go, when you’re on the move, out of the office or at home. Office 365 lets you log in and connect to your office anywhere. Microsoft Office 365 is completely cloud-based, meaning you can access your files, email and Office programmes on your mobile, laptop or desktop wherever you like. You’ll have the ability to edit your documents from any location on any device with employees that are out the office or with a client that’s halfway across the world. With current workplace changes taking place, such as remote and flexible working, it’s never been easier to collaborate.

4. Easily scalable

Office 365 applications gives you the opportunity to scale your business. You can create custom solutions for different departments within the business to help maximise productivity. But what about when the company grows and you employ more staff? No need to worry, you can easily add and remove licenses with a couple of admin clicks.

5. Cross-collaboration has never been easier

Does your team work together on tasks or documents? Office 365 comes with plenty of features that will allow you to work better, together.

One of Microsofts growing collaboration tools, that’s on track to be the number one business chat application by 2020, is Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is your hub for business collaboration with it’s calling features, file storage system and instant messenger. Plus, many more. You’ll be able to carry out your daily huddles, department meetings and work with your colleagues on documents from any location. Sounds good, right? But there’s more.

SharePoint is your one-stop shop for sharing documents with colleagues. Within SharePoint you can store any files you want to share with the rest of your organisation, for example, brand guidelines, process templates or your latest team project. SharePoint is accessible from any device, meaning your employees will be able to access their files anywhere, on any device.

Microsoft has now made it easier than ever for you to collaborate with your colleagues. Within Word, Excel and PowerPoint you’ll have the ability to share documents and edit them in real time with other employees or even external people such as partners.

6. Stay updated

Do you get FOMO? No fear with Office 365, as Microsoft will always keep you up to date with the latest product optimisations and security patches. Because Office 365 is in the cloud, you’ll benefit from always be on the latest version. At no extra cost. Microsoft automatically rolls upgrades to all users – meaning your business can avoid any compatibility issues as all employees will be on the latest version.

7. You’ll always be secure in Office 365

Many people still have the impression that the cloud isn’t secure. But this isn’t the case. If anything, it’s more secure, if your cloud environment is built correctly. It’s all about how you use the features available and what security measures you put in place. Some of the security features you can benefit from in Office 365 are:

• Message encryption, which enables you to send encrypted emails that will not allow anyone other than the recipient to open them.
• Advanced Threat Analytics will allow you to identify any suspicious activity in real time, reducing the risk of any damage. This will empower your business to quickly detect any threats, reduce false positive fatigue and easily plan your next steps to protect your business from any suspicious activity.
• Mobile Device Management allows you to manage Office 365 on your employees’ mobile devices. Within this feature, you can manage device security policies, view device reports and can remotely wipe a device if it’s ever stolen.
• Data Loss Prevention helps prevent any sensitive information from leaving your organisation. DLP will help you identify, monitor and protect any sensitive information in your Office 365. When DLP is enabled it will scan for sensitive information e.g. credit card details, passport information or social security numbers.

8. Have the flexibility to mix and match

Office 365 has a variety of plans available for you to find the one best suited for your business needs. What’s best is you’ll have the flexibility to change your plans and users with ease. Meaning you only pay for what you use. If you purchase your Office 365 licenses through a CSP, you’ll have the ability to increase or decrease licenses as required due to its flexible model. What’s best is there’s no multi-year commitment. We’re leading the cloud industry with our PROVIDE portal that allows your business to manage your Office 365 subscriptions in a few clicks.

We’re proud to be a Microsoft CSP, and if you would like to find out more about our flexible Office 365 licenses, then our team would love to provide you with further information.
Want to find out more about the benefits of Office 365, and what your business could achieve in an online office? Get in contact with one of our experts to discover more.