Are you ready for it? The biggest secret to optimising your Office 365 is to use all the apps!
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised with how many businesses under-use their licenses or do not consider Microsoft Office 365 as their one-stop shop for app needs. Not only does Office 365 provide a lower cost of ownerships when compared to other options, but Office 365 offers a large selection of applications that many businesses aren’t aware of.
The Office 365 suite includes the standard apps we are all familiar with: Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint. However, the suite goes beyond the desktop installs. You can access the apps in the cloud by using online versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and others. By accessing these applications online, the editing, sharing, and saving options open. Likewise, you will not be restricted to a single computer.
You might have known that already, but here is something you might not know. If you are currently relying on a heavy file server, you might want to consider looking into Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint, or OneDrive. Considering file replacements might be hard if you are stuck in your ways but going with Office 365 can help your business stay up-to-date and remain competitive. For instance, OneDrive for business is an acceptable file server replacement. It is easy to use, allowing you to control permissions and sync items that are accessed on a regular basis. Likewise, you can cancel your journaling and archiving services and use Exchange online instead. The best part? Exchange Online can retain deleted emails for 24,855 days (or 68 years). There is a lot of space to work with and you can cut down on costs when including Exchange Online in your Office 365 subscriptions.
The Office 365 suite can also assist with other business tasks like: invoices, meetings, and project management, to name a few. Here is a breakdown:
| Microsoft Teams | Meetings, collaborations, online chat |
| Microsoft OneNote | Drawing, notes |
| Microsoft Sway | Online presentations |
| Microsoft Planner | Project management |
| Microsoft ToDo | Task tracking |
| Microsoft Flow | Automation of workflow |
| Microsoft Bookings | Appointments and meetings |
| Microsoft Invoicing | Invoicing |
| Microsoft Mile IQ | Mile tracking / fleet management |
| Microsoft Outlook Customer Manager | CRM |
| Microsoft Stream | Video streaming |
| Microsoft Forms | Forms, polls, quizzes, surveys |
Each Microsoft app is comparable to other apps out there. Our advice is to make the switch to Microsoft Office 365 and really take advantage of the cost savings. To help you in the process, TBSC has developed Smarter Inventories, a tool that scans using agentless technology in order to discover the current on-premise and cloud applications installed or in use. With these reports, you an determine what applications you can discard and replace with Microsoft Office 365.
We also recommend using our tool Smarter 365 if you are running on Office 365 subscriptions. This tool monitors your usage and can offer automatic recommendations on savings. Typically, this involves flexing your subscribers up or down on a month to month basis to save on cost, downgrade & reharvesting suggestions, and more. However, the bonus to Smarter 365 is that you can track all app usage per user, so you know who is using what! This means if one of your team members is not using an app, you can offer additional training to help get them up to speed. This process really helps with utilising the apps you’re paying for.
If you are interested in finding out more information, please visit our website: https://tbsc.cloud/
Or email a member of our sales team at: Sales@businesssoftwarecentre.com
