For any business, To switch to a cloud-based system where all pieces of data can be considered and stores online.
Platforms like Microsoft Office 365 have many benefits, but sometimes it may not be suitable for business. To help you in deciding whether the system that works for your business or not, here are some pros and cons of using MS Office 365 for business.
Advantages of Office 365
Work from anywhere with Internet access
The powerful advantages of using a cloud-based system are that all appliances normally used by you at work sites can be accessed remotely.
People just access programs on their computers or physical servers at work in the past time. Microsoft Office 365 allows businesses to blaze these same files and programs anywhere they want to use any compatible device, such as — users no longer need to be on-premises to complete their work.
If you have a internet for a long time and you can carry on working because everything can be saved on the cloud server.
Some Office 365 plans allow you to install a full desktop version of the programs even if there is a poor internet connection or suffer from regular downtime, you can simply carry on working and sync the changes once you have reconnected.
Office 365 highly convenient for remote employees who work at home or frequently as they can simply be kept in the loop.
There are many ways to improve and save time in work productivity:
Seamless team collaboration:
For many businesses, able to collaborate with in-house departments and employees, and third party (individual) is an important factor.
Co-Authoring tool allows multiple users to collaborate on a piece of work at the same time in Office 365. Employees can be engaged with each other on the same project but there are no duplicate copies will be created because the updates are seen in real-time, you can see the editing of the documents that who’s made and change of time.
The features which are multi-collaboration also helps to save time because you have don’t have to wait for others to finish the work and before that, you can make your edits.
Regular, automatic updates:
IT technicians would have spent time checking, rebooting and updating software, it basically takes up their time but this means employees have to wait for continuing their work.
In brief, we can say that Office 365 regularly pushes out their updates. This helps to remove the burden which is placed on the IT staff and allows you to continue working without being held slow or outdated software.
Reduces security risks with advanced protective features
One of the main features of cloud-based systems such as Office 365 is how to secure it will be. Microsoft has taken jumps and spring in terms of security features to ensure that data uploads onto the cloud system are as secure as they possibly can be. And It’s not just like hashed passwords with a mix up of letters, numbers, and characters.
There are some interesting and highly valuable features but Office 365’s most attractive and popular ones include:
Data Loss Prevention: A feature that allows business to monitor, regulate and protect sensitive business data.
Threat Intelligence: Office 365 features which allow enterprise E5 users broad to see the thread landscape. And it will also help in understand threads so they can respond more effectively to them.
Mobile Device management: It allows all the features IT staff to control the Microsoft Office 365 software with the help of the mobile device. If the devices are lost or stolen, all of the data can be deleted in order to protect it without needing that original device to wipe out. These are the notable features for businesses who want to go forward or one step further in protecting sensitive data. Users get extra security features such as two-factor authentication.
Advanced Security: A feature that provides extra protection from revealing threats that may be hidden in emails and attachments.
Multiple, flexible plans tailored to businesses
An office software plan might perfect in all ways. But for some of the businesses it should not be changed, just fit to them. It is basically in the cases with productivity suites which only have two or three plans available.
Microsoft has seven plans to choose from the mixture of unique and overlapping features. But also helps in completing the businesses. That means you no need to compromise and you can choose the suitable plans for your business needs.
Disadvantages of Office 365
You always need an Internet connection to access up to date files
The Office 365 has the biggest advantages is its ability allows users to access their work wherever they are, but this may be its biggest disadvantages.
This is because Office 365, like all cloud-based systems, uploads the data on the web, by this process you can access your work and no need to be on-premises or use your office computer.
In your business, if you are suffering from a poor internet connection or regular downtime, then this can be a problem that you won’t be able to access your most recent files.
However, some plans allow you to download full desktop versions of Office 365 applications so if you know you are going without internet, you may simply download them and carry on working as normal – then upload later.
Is Data ever completely secure?
If your business has a lot of data — to the point where it can become difficult to deal with and cope then Microsoft can help in manage the security aspects to take the burden off.
However, some businesses might not be comfortable with this as understandably, they did want their own employees to handle the problems rather than surrendering it to an external company.
Microsoft has strict safety and regulations in place to help protect your information, as we mentioned the security features earlier. However, these regulations may interfere in your business daily activities ( for example, preventing the particular types of files from being imported). If there is the case, certain Office 365 plans, such as the enterprise plan, allows you to control your own data – for peace of mind.
There is also the security issue of information being accessed through the internet, as even the best and most advanced od security measures can be a rupture.
The most modern cloud-based system has highly advanced security features to help protect sensitive data as best as possible. There you can take various proactive measures: for example, conducting regular inspections of data in order to discover fake projects and suspicious activity.
Software should be updated on a regular basis so you always have the latest security features – something which Office 365 does automatically.
Compatibility problems
This might just be one of the most disheartening scenarios a business could face. Imagine being excited to finally test out Office 365 after years of putting up with slow, outdated software and then finding out that it isn’t compatible with your old system.
While Microsoft might roll out continuous updates with advanced features, they tend to only be compatible with devices that are capable of handling such a sophisticated piece of software.
If you find that your systems aren’t compatible with Office 365, then there are a few ways around it – but they can be costly and time-consuming. You could either upgrade every one of your systems to a newer version of Microsoft Windows or buy new systems.
As well as this, you might also have clients or work with third-party companies who don’t use cloud systems or have the same software.
To help mitigate this drawback, Office 365 comes with Office Online – a tool that allows third-party users to use basic functions such as viewing and editing documents without needing to subscribe to a plan. This tool is, however, very basic and limited to what can actually be done.
How does Office 365 compare to other Cloud-Based Systems?
Before you decide to make the all-important change from traditional to cloud-based systems, you want to be well-informed.
Although Microsoft’s Office 365 comes with a plethora of benefits, including advanced security features and the option to choose from multiple plans, there are other cloud-based systems offering similar features and benefits to Microsoft’s Office 365 – for example, Zoho’s Workplace or Google’s G Suite.
Do your research and test different cloud systems out before you decide on the one that’s best for you and your business.