Microsoft 365, or Office 365 by its old name, has now been on the market for over 20 years. I couldn’t really believe it. It made me wonder why it’s still in the adoption curve and not what every UK business is using.
I think the main reason for this is that Microsoft has taken that long to get the formula right. If you go back to 2001, which for most of us doesn’t feel that long ago. Office 365 was launching, we were all sat in our offices, with on prem services and the need for OneDrive didn’t cross our minds. We were happy working off our shared drives whirring in the comms cabinet and UC wasn’t even a thought.
Fast forward 20 years, and a shared drive is nothing but a legacy pain for any business and not one of us could imagine a day without video calling and instant messaging.
So, Microsoft took 20 years to learn the market and tighten up the use cases, until today in 2021 we all need Microsoft 365 like our lives depended on it.
I’m sure you’ll have your own but here are 10 things I particularly love about Microsoft 365:
1. No more floppy disks
No more Word 95 or Office 2003, just a single set of tools that are constantly up to date using a single file type. The best part is no more discs or pricey updates, it just manages itself.
2. Everything, everywhere
OneDrive might be my favourite feature. All my files, backed up and available everywhere. No more worries about saving every few minutes or hard drive failure.
3. A shared workplace
Making SharePoint a more standard feature was a brilliant move, giving every business big and small a place to share and collaborate. And the ability to work together in real-time on documents has revolutionised my team’s productivity.
4. Collaborate with teams
Microsoft Teams is so much more than an instant messaging tool. It brings phone and video conferencing, collaboration, project management and file management all together into one place across any groups of people.
5. Anytime, anywhere access
The move to browser-based apps and everything in the cloud makes it so simple to access files on any device, regardless of location.
6. One size doesn’t fit all
With Microsoft 365 there’s a variety of options so you can pick a license for the individual person’s need and mix and match across your business. Also, a monthly subscription means you can upgrade or downgrade at any time.
7. Scale as you grow
Microsoft 365 provides the same functionality whether you’re a single user or a 2,000 employees national business, so you add and remove licenses whenever, knowing you’ll always be on the same version.
8. Safe as houses
With Microsoft’s mission to be a full desktop suite rather than just office tools, Microsoft 365 has added a level of security alongside it’s in-built security centre to help ensure businesses and data security.
9. Never stands still
Microsoft is always looking for new features and functions to add to its suite. Using @ tags for comments and multi-language dictation are two of the most recent.
10. Easy and enjoyable
I love the tech I use to be easy and enjoyable, and it really doesn’t get better than Microsoft 365. Loads of tools, all with the same interface and with useful features that make my work easier every day.
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