How You Can Make a Smooth Transition to Using Office 365 for Enterprise:
Microsoft Office 365 has grown faster than most businesses trends in the passing few years. In January 2017, Microsoft announced that there had been a 140% increase in users over the past year, and as of Q1 2017, the number of users has now exceeded 100 million.
It represents a powerful step to efficient work and accessability and can help a business grow and be more productive than ever. The key to helping your business grow is now more obtainable than ever, and here are 5 tips to get you on that path.
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Use the entire range of office applications loved by millions of users. Whether you use a web-based or local installed version, you'll always have the latest and fastest version of Office. All future updates are automatically (freely) pushed to your devices.
Furthermore, at no additional charge, you'll get Microsoft's online storage service "OneDrive for Business" with 1TB (1000 GB) of cloud storage, giving you and your employees access to your data at any time, from anywhere.
1. Be aware of what you need from the software!
It is important to know what you want to get out of Office 365, it has many uses and to know about all of them will benefit you greatly. Wheather it's emails, documents, schedules or customer contacts, there are numerous parts to your business that keep it afloat. It's a good idea to find out what data you have for your business that you value more than others, and what data you want to move into the cloud.
It can be as expansive as all of your users or just their documentation. Before making the leap into full the full transition, you should have a complete strategy for the entire process that outlines needs and various business goals.
2. Follow Expert Advice!
It's perfectly reasonable to be a bit nervous about switching to Office 365 and we realise that you may have some concerns.
Rand Morimoto, a Microsoft MVP has written an article discussing at length some of the most frequently asked questions that customers have when making the switch, including:
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Will it cause downtime for our business?
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Will it slow down our network connection?
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How will it fit into our security guidelines?
These aren't the only questions that can arrise, neither are they the only things that could cause issues with the switch. Complications with misconfigured firewalls, proxy devices and CAS servers can all have issues when making the transition. The good news is that Microsoft is very aware of the majority of issues and they offer viable solutions to them.
Microsoft have created a step-by-step guide to make the transition as easy as possible on one's sanity. It's called the Deployment Assistant Tool, and it's for all types of deployments - from new businesses to those wanting a hybrid system and even to theose who want to migrate from on-premises to Office 365 completely.
And when it comes down to migrating your precious data, make sure you're using Microsoft's checklist so you can move your data easily into the cloud.
3. Talk to People who Have Made the Switch!
Due to the drastic increase in people using Office 365, chances are you know someone who either uses it or has switched to it from another system - why not have a chat with them and ask them about the experience and see if there is any problems that you could avoid due to their help. Any opportunity that you have to avoid potential issues shoudl be taken!
4. Be Prepared for a Shift in Mindset!
When you switch to Office 365, you may need to be prepared to let go of some control, especially if you currently manage your data on-premises. Microsoft takes data protection very seriously, so there is no reason at all to be apprehensive or nervous.
When you upload a document to the platform, it is encrypted to the highest level of security (similar to financial institutions!), and the platform is ISO certified. Microsoft also has controls in place to comply with regulatory requirements for compliance and data privacy.
In addition to all this, the Office 365 Trust Centre makes it abundantly clear that control is in your hands. They offer:
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Built-in security with customer control;
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Privacy controls on your own data;
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Control over your business compliance needs, and;
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Complete visibility into your data and who has access to it.
So, while you may be transitioning to new systems and processes while moving your data into the cloud, you'll be secure as possible and your business will gain huge operational savings.
5. Make Sure You Have a Backup!
As we've just discussed, Microsoft ensures total cloud data security, but this does not mean that nothing can go wrong. Ultimately, you are responsible for your data and should be very careful to take great care with it. A timely back-up system from either a third-party software or a manual server backup that you sort out. This is mainly in case of a hardware issue or another issue of a similar type. When you have a backup, you are ready to respond quickly and seamlessly and will avoid any potential loss of files, allowing your business to continue to work as per usual.
Microsoft has several copies of your information, so you are always protected from any potential hardware failiure on their end. The only thing you need to keep an eye on is internal storage. However, what could cause data loss on your end in Office 365?
1. User Error,
2. Malicious Insiders,
3. Hackers,
4. Sync errors and configuration errors.
To quickly recover from any and all of these issues, remember to constantly backup your data!