The Microsoft Office 365 Productivity Suite in 2017 - DynaSis€¦ · The Microsoft Office 365...

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives

The Microsoft Office 365 Productivity Suite in 2017

Collaboration, security and mobility have become vital in today’s business world and Microsoft continues to lead the way.

Theabovestatementreflectstheneedforcompaniestoleveragethebestavailablecloud-basedbusinesstoolsformaximizedemployeeproductivity,andprotectionforthemselvesandtheircustomers.Theanswer:MicrosoftOffice365.Office365isnotjustthenextupgradetotheOfficesuiteyouhaveusedforyears;itisagiantleapforwardthatbringsyouanewgenerationofcollaboration-basedapplications,withtheavailability,securityandmobilitythatbenefitsyouremployees,yourpartners,andyourcustomersonadailybasis.

Inthiswhitepaper,wearegoingtoaddresstheneedsofthesmalltomid-sizedbusiness,essentiallythosewithasfewas10andasmanyas200users,andwhycloudcomputing(yes,Office365iscloudcomputing)isimportanttoday,andhow,withoutit,youareallowingadividetogrowbetweenyouandyourcompetitorswhohavealreadymovedinthatdirection.

Whilekeepingpacewithyourcompetition,enablingyourcurrentemployeestobecomemoreproductive,andadvancednetworksecurityarecertainlygreatreasonstoconsidertheupgrade,itisalsoimportanttounderstandtoday’sbusinessuser.Beforeacceptingnewjoboffers,todaysbestmillennialworkersareaskingthequestion:WhatsoftwareisavailabletodomyjobandwillitallowfortheflexibilityIhavecometoexpect?Today’syoungerworkershavegrownupinahighlytechnicalworldandhavebecomeaccustomedtoaleveloftechnologythatnotonlyeclipsesthemoonlaunch,butwouldhavegottenmantoMarsandbeyond.Theydonotwanttotakeastepbackwards.

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives___________________________________________________________________________________

Worry less. Work easier. Work together.Admirablegoals,tobesure,solet’slookathowOffice365canhelpyourbusinessaccomplishthese,becauseeachoftheseisimportanttothesuccessofyourbusinessandthequalityofyourlife

Worrylessbyprotectingthosethingsthatyouvaluemost.Somepeoplethinkofitintermsofbeingabletosleepatnight.Office365isanimportantcoginyoursecuritymanagementsystem,protectingbothyourdataanddevices.Thinkaboutallthedevicesyouremployeesusetoday.Gonearethedayswhenemployees’onlyaccesstotechnologywerethehoursbetween9to5whentheyweresittingattheirdesks.Thinklaptops,tablets,smartphonesandyouwillunderstandwhyitissoimportantthatOffice365providesdatalossprevention,mobiledevicemanagement,andadminrightsmanagement(whohasaccesstowhat,andwhattheycandowhentheydohaveaccess).Today’semployeesaremorethanlikelyusingtheirowndevicesaswellasthosesuppliedbythecompany.Unlessyouarepreparedtosupplyyouremployeeswithdesktops,laptops,tabletsandsmartphones,chancesaretheywilleachbeusingatleastonedeviceoftheirownandmaybeusingunsanctionedapplicationsiftheydonothavethetoolstheyneedtodotheirjobs.Youneedtohaveenterpriselevelprotectionandcontinuity,butwithOffice365,youwon’thavetobearthecostofanITdepartmentequivalenttothatofamajorcompany.

AlsorememberthatwearespeakingaboutMicrosoft,acompanythatcanprovideafinanciallybackedservicelevelagreement(SLA)thatisn’tavailablewithmostothersolutions.RiskisalsominimizedasyourbackupiscontinuouslyupdatedinMicrosoft’sworldwidedatacenters.

Workeasier.Today“workingeasier”includestheabilitytoworkwhenandwhereapersonwants,whetherintheoffice,athome,inanairport,orinacustomer’sofficeacrossthecountry…oracrosstheworld.Itmeansthatifsomeonewantstoprepareforanimportant8AMMondaymorningmeeting,shecanworkaseffectivelyathomeat4AMSundaymorningasshewouldbesittingatherdeskintheoffice.Rememberwhen,ifyouwantedtoworkfromhome,youhadtomakesureyouemailedyourselfthefilesyouneeded?Orputthem

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives____________________________________________________________________________________

onaflashdrive?Thendiscoveredyouforgottoincludethemostimportantdocument…orlefttheflashdriveonyourdesk.WithOffice365youhavetheanytime/anywhereaccesstoeverythingyouneed,justasyouwouldatyourofficedesk.Worktogether.Fewpeopleworkinavacuumtoday.Marketinginteractswithsales,whichinteractswithR&D,whichinteractswithfinance,andsupportteamsinteractwitheveryone.Theoldsayinggoes,“Twoheadsarebetterthanone.”Intoday’sworkenvironment,“fiveheadsarebetterthanone”isabetterdescriptionandcollaborationiscritical.

The Office 365 Applications

Thereisalotheretoabsorb.WearenotsuggestingthatyourbusinessneedseverythingOffice365offers.Whilethecorebasics,suchasWord,Excel,PowerPoint,OutlookandExchange,arestillthere,everybusinesswillfindadditionalapplicationsthatwillmakelifesimplerandmoreproductiveBelowisalistofsomeofthemostpopularoftheOffice365applicationsthatmanybusinessesfinduseful.Therearemanymorelistedattheendofthispaper.MicrosoftOffice-Word,Excel,PowerPoint:Thesearethegoldstandardsofthebusinessworld.Yourteamhasprobablybeenusingtheseforyearsandnowtheywillalwayshavethemostcurrentversion.ExchangeforEmail:Alwaysavailable.Alwayssecure.BecauseExchangeiscloud-based,evenifyouron-premisesservergoesdown,youremailisalwaysupandrunning.Youremailcanalsobeformattedtomatchyourbusiness’specificneeds,includingrunningwithmailboxesbothinthecloudANDonpremises.Youcanalsoaddattachmentsupto150MB.Typicalemailsystemsmaxoutat20MB,waytoosmallfortoday’smanycomplexbusinessdocuments,especiallythosewithhi-resimages.Outlook:Outlookhasbecometheuniversalemailandcalendarappforbusinessthatgivesyouaclearandunifiedviewofnotonlyyouremailandcalendar,butalsoyourcontactsandfiles.Italsohighlightsyourimportantemails,sharesyourschedulewithothers(atyourdiscretion),schedulesmeetingsandsetsreminders.SkypeforBusiness:Theadvancedbusinessversionthatallowsyourchoiceofvideoorvoicecallsandconferencing,andletspeopleknowwhetherornotyouarecurrentlyavailable.InstantMessaging(IM)isalsoincludedto“ping”someoneforaquickpieceofinformation.VideoconferencingallowsfullyintegratedpresentationofPowerPoint,ExcelandWorddocs.

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives

__________________________________________________________________________________OneDriveforBusiness:OneDriveiseachuser’spersonalcloudof1TBofstoragethatisaccessibleanytime,anywhere,andsyncswithbothPCsandMacs.OneDriveallowssharingofdocuments,whilealsoallowingcontrolofwhocansee,editandcollaborateoneachfile.Thiscanbedoneinreal-timewhilesecurelysharing,storingandsynchingfilesfromvirtuallyanydevice.Yammer:Yammertakestheteamcollaborationconceptastepfurtherbysharinginformationacrossmultipleteams,allowingimportantinputfrombothinsideandoutsidesources(withappropriatepermissions)totakefulladvantageofallavailableresources.OneNote:Whetheryouareaccustomedtoscribblinggreatideasandthoughtsonnapkinsorstickynotes,orcarefullytypingandfilingyourthinking,OneNotegivesyouaplatformtosave,organizeandshareyournotes.Youcanalsowriteanddrawwiththefeelingofpenandpaper.Alsosearchthewebandsavefromthere,thenpullthecontentyouhavesavedfromanywhereonanydevice,anyplatform.

FewbusinesseswilladopteverysingleOffice365applicationintheirdailyuse-butwithOffice365youhavewhateveryouneed,whenyouneedit,topropelyourbusinessproductivity,collaborationandmobilitytoawholenewlevel.Infact,Microsofthasanalyzedanumberofindustriestodeterminewhichappsarebestsuitedforwhichindustries,suchasFinancialServices,Healthcare,Retail,Manufacturing,Legal,Hospitality,tonameafew.

Usability

Office365isalwaysup-to-date.TheOffice365ProductivitySuitealwaysupdatesitselftothenewestversion.Yourentireteamwillalwaysbeworkingwiththemostrecentversionsofalltheapplications.Office365isfullyfunctionalonMac,PC,iPadsandiPhones,WindowsphonesandtabletsandAndroidphonesandtablets.

Security

Securitytodayrequiresamultiprongedoffense/defenseapproach,andOffice365isanimportantpiece,providing:

RightsManagementServices:Built-incapabilitiesandcontrolsareincludedsoyoucandeterminewhohasaccesstowhat.ComplianceCenter:ApowerfultoolforyourOffice365administratortomanageandcontrolcomplianceacrossalltheOffice365applications.Withthis,youarealong

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives____________________________________________________________________________________

waytowardsmeetingthelegal,regulatoryandorganizationalcompliancerequirementsofyourbusinessandindustry.Thisconsolidationmakescomplianceeasierandmoreeffective.DataLossPrevention:Identifyingandmonitoringsensitiveinfo,suchaspersonal/privateIDnumbers,creditcarddata,etc.,usedbyyourcompanybecomesmucheasier.Youcanalsosetupnotificationsthatletusersknowwhentheyareusingorsendingsensitiveinformation,orblockitstransmission.Encryption:Itisnoweasytosecurelysendencryptedemails,whichremainencrypteduntilrecipientopens,andstayencryptedoncetheyareclosed.

Onlypayforwhatyouneed:Flexibleplansmeansyoucaneasilyaddordeleteusersasyourstaffingneedschange.Andwiththeabilitytomixandmatchplans,youcanchoosetheappropriateplanforeachemployeeaccordingtotheirneeds.

AtDynaSis,wehavebeenaproudMicrosoftPartnersince1993.Sinceourfoundingin1992,wehavebeentheleadingmanagedITsecurityandserviceproviderforsmalltomid-sizedbusinessesintheAtlantaMetroarea.Ifyouwouldliketolearnwhy,pleasecontactusat678.373.0716orvisitusatwww.DynaSis.com.

Aspromisedabove,herearemoreoftheOffice365applicationsthathelpdriveproductivity:

Teams:Agroup-chatappwithinSkypeforBusinessthathasbeendesignedforteams,andwhichfunctionsoftwolevels.Chatwiththeentireteam,keepingarecordoftheconversation,orprivatechatwithasubsetsothatitisnotnecessaryfortheentireteamtofollowachatbetweenjustafewindividuals.

SharePointOnline:WhileOneDriveiseachemployee’spersonalcloudstoragespace,SharePointprovidessecurecloudstorageforateam.Theteamcanstore,access,organize,update,synchandshareinformationfromanyoftheirdevices,thencollaboratewitheachotheraswellaspartnersandcustomers.Delve:NowyoucanfindyourdocumentswithouthavingtoremembereithertheirtitlesorwheretheyarestoredineitherOneDriveorSharePoint.Delvepointstheway.NotethatDelvewillnotchangeanyone’spermissions,soeachemployeecanonlyseedocumentstowhichtheyalreadyhaveaccess.Delvealsoallowsemployeestocreatedetailedprofilesofthemselves,onlyavailabletootheremployees,andisdesignedtoletotheremployeeslearnmoreabouttheindividualsoastofosterteamcooperationandcollaboration.

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TheDynaSisEducationalSeriesforC-LevelExecutives__________________________________________________________________________________

eDiscovery:Howoftenhaveyouneededtofindsomethingthatyouknewyouhad,butcouldn’trememberwhereitiswaslocated?WhileDelvewillsearchOneDriveandSharePoint,eDiscoverywillsearchcontentinyourmailboxandSkypeforBusinessconversations.Video:MicrosoftVideo–easyaccesstocompanyvideos,plustheabilitytofindrelevantvideosacrosstheInternet.Curatetraining,sales,how-toandgeneralinformationvideoswithasimpledraganddropfunction,thenaddingtagsanddescriptions.YoucanthensharethemthroughYammerandSharePoint,plustheycanbefoundusingDelve.

Visio:Anadvancedyeteasy-to-usediagrammingtoolthatcanbeusedforthecreationofflowcharts,orgcharts,floorplans,networkingdiagrams,engineeringdesignsandmore.ThesecanthenbeusedinalltheOffice365applicationssuchasWord,ExcelandPowerPointaswellasinvideoconferencingthroughSkypeforBusiness.

Sway:Createandsharehigh-qualityinteractivereports,presentations,stories,andvideos.AllyoudoisaddthecontentandSwaydoestherest.Itwillalsosuggestsearchesthatcanhelpyoufindrelevantcontent.Then,justdraganddropintoplace.

SmartLookup(Insights):Selectawordoraphraseandyougetmuchmorethanjustadefinition.PoweredbyBing,withjustarightclickyougetthedefinitionPLUSWikiarticlesandtopsearchesfromtheweb.

Therearestillothers:Tasks,flaggingandschedulingtasks;Newsfeed,postorfollowcolleagues’conversations;Planner,managetasksongraphicboards;PowerBI,interactivebusinessanalyticsanddashboards;PowerApps,buildyourownmobileapps;ProjectOnline,projectmanagement;Dynamics365,customerrelationshipmanagement;Flow,automatingworkflowsacrossapps;andmuchmore.Butthekeyistogetstarted.OnceyouhavemadethedecisiontomigratetoOffice365,youwillbeamazedatthelevelofproductivityyoucanachievewithjustafewofthesemanytools.

Formoreinformation,www.DynaSis.com/O365.Orcallusat678.373.0716.