In the pursuit of innovating business processes many SMBs are turning to cloud applications that will allow them to mobilize their workforce and run their business in the cloud. With the introduction of Office 365, Microsoft is offering the Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications and hosted versions of Microsoft’s Server products (including Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Lync Server), delivered and accessed via the cloud. Despite cynics referring to this as a glorified rebranding exercise as some elements of Office 365 are in effect the next version of Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), the inclusion of the most commonly used office software in the world certainly adds an edge. There are also considerable increases in options in SharePoint 2010 and Outlook Web access 2010.
The Good
Office 365 is aimed at small businesses that might not have dedicated IT staff and offers the ability to subscribe with fewer than five users, which puts cost-conscious small businesses in a position to pay a fair price and have a system that can grow with them. A subscription to Office, for instance, can save a startup company thousands on initial software expenditures, meaning they can pay as they start to make money rather than at start up.
Microsoft Office 365 is available in essentially two plans, the Professional Plan or Plan P1 for small businesses and an Enterprise Plan for midsize businesses (50+ users) and enterprises. Because Office 365 is a solution that will have a large appeal to smaller businesses, I will concentrate on plan P1.
The basic Office 365 package is an upgrade to the 2010 versions of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Online and Live Meeting – the last two of which have been packaged and are now known as Lync. More interesting though are the additional Office Software Online options that it brings. You can have online web apps at a small extra cost and for a bit more subscribe to full Microsoft Office. Microsoft Exchange syncs perfectly with local Outlook and can be accessed anywhere online using Outlook Web App (previously Outlook Web Access) which is used to manage email, calendars, contacts and tasks. A full Personal Information Manager in the cloud is a bonus and the Outlook Web App means you have most of the functions of your desktop Outlook at your fingertips wherever you are, not just when you’re on your own PC.
The Bad
There are some caveats to think about when considering Microsoft 365.
- There is no Microsoft support for Plan P1 users. The only help available is Microsoft’s online forum which often consists of other users commiserating over issues they are experiencing.
- If you lose your work in the desktop version, Office saves temporary hidden files that include changes and revisions made to the documents, but not saved. If you lose a document in Office 365, it’s gone.
- Loading up any of the Office 365 products take about half a minute longer than launching the conventional programs on the desktop.
- The admin management screens and workflow aren’t organized as well as they could be creating a lot of screens to navigate.
- You are limited to 500 sent emails each day. Each TO, CC or BCC per email counts toward this cap, so emailing 500 individuals or sending a single email with 500 recipients would put you at the cap.
- While documents can be “edited” in Office 365, you can’t track changes to make revisions.
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While these issues are concerning, Office 365 offers an option for businesses who want to migrate applications to the cloud and are looking for a less expensive way to get started with Office and avoid being hit by the ”˜upgrade cycle’ when Microsoft releases new version of their Office product.
To learn more about Cloud Solutions for your business, view our 5-part Cloud Series of webinars or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com.
