What is Microsoft 365 and how can it be used in your Small to Medium Business

So you'd like to know what is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is more than a platform for your emails and files, it's an entire ecosystem that can tie in your technology stack. With the correct setup, Microsoft 365 can manage your staff and their devices on a whole new level at a cost that is manageable for most small to medium sized businesses. I will touch on what most businesses are missing out on and how a Microsoft 365 consultant can benefit your business.

What is Microsoft 365 capable of managing?

There are a list of things your Microsoft environment can do for your business. The best part about everything I will discuss is that it’s fully scalable. If you’re just starting your business out now, this same setup will work well when you hire 10-100 additional staff in the future. From emails to staff logins, this list may surprise you.

Windows Computer Login

If you have Windows computers in your business, they can be set up to login using your staff members' Microsoft 365 account details. That same account is used to login to emails, office apps and OneDrive/SharePoint files.

Each workstation can be configured to login using any Microsoft 365 account within your organisation's environment, meaning staff can work on any workstation in the business. This also helps greatly to enable staff to work securely from home.

This also greatly reduces the amount of times a staff member needs to login to their different Microsoft 365 apps. OneDrive will automatically sign staff into this system if they have already logged into the workstation with their company details.

It is strongly advised you engage a Microsoft 365 consultant to have this set up correctly. The peace of mind is worth it.

What is Microsoft 365 - SharePoint / OneDrive Sync

Company documents can be kept securely in a company SharePoint site. These files can then securely be synced down to a staff member's workstation for file access within File Explorer (and not in the web version of SharePoint). When a staff member has had their workstation connected to the Microsoft 365 environment, they will only have access to the SharePoint files that a global administrator has granted them access to.

If OneDrive has been set up correctly, it will automatically back up your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders on your Windows workstation. Yes, you shouldn’t really be saving files to your local workstation but let’s face it, we all do it. This way, if for some reason your computer suffers a catastrophic failure, your data is safe within your OneDrive account.

This also means you can jump on any workstation in the organisation and access that same Desktop/Documents/Pictures folder (only the staff member who is logged in will be able to see this data).

Microsoft 365 - Office Applications

With a valid Microsoft 365 license, your staff gain access to the full everyday office suite. Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are the primary office applications staff use every single day. Gone are the days of downloading dodgy license keys and purchasing a CD with an install key that is impossible to keep track of.

You will also receive the latest updates as they become available to your office applications. No longer do you get stuck with ‘Office 2014’ for the next 10 years. (I know some of you reading this are guilty of this.)

You’re also able to co-work on documents that are shared in your company SharePoint site. You can see when other staff members are in a document and the entire team can collaboratively work on the same document.

These are just a few of the many different features and benefits of Microsoft 365. It’s one of the leaders in collaborative workspaces. If set up correctly by Microsoft 365 consultants and maintained and managed by a Managed IT Service provider, you can have one of the most collaborative and secure technology environments that will help you focus on what you do best.