Office 365 is a powerful group of software applications that are particularly effective for businesses and organizations. In this article, we'll explain the top seven benefits of O365 in relation to your business operations. 

 1: Easy collaboration

Improving collaboration between employees has always been a major focus of businesses, but it's become even more so in the past few years. Better collaboration means better project management, better products, and better customer service. 

O365 improves collaboration in several ways. For one, you can store files on the cloud so employees can access and edit them from anywhere. This helps teams work together without having to send files back and forth.

In addition, Microsoft released new group chat software called Teams, as reported in this Tech Crunch article:

"Within that, Microsoft takes you into a pretty huge range of different options that tap into its many other products. These include direct chats, the option to hold audio and video calls, the ability to call in spreadsheets and other documents, run some analytics and more, along with spaces for “evergreen” content as well as others for more rapidly changing data."

Similar to apps like Slack, Teams is great for employee communication. It lets employees chat, send private messages, call each other, and send files. 

2: Data storage and security

Data loss can be crippling if you don't properly back up your data. With O365, you can store your data on the cloud for disaster preparedness. Even if a tornado destroys your office building, you'll be able to restore everything once you're ready to get set up again. 

Consumers today want to know that their data is secured. This is one of many reasons businesses have to prioritize data security. With O365, your data is encrypted on Microsoft's servers. You can even send encrypted emails if you're worried about getting hacked. All in all, you'll have all the data security a business needs. 

3: Mobile employees

O365 is great for mobility for two reasons. First of all, your data is stored on the cloud, so employees can access it regardless of their physical location as long as they have Internet connection. Secondly, there are O365 mobile apps your employees can download to edit and share files while not at a desktop computer. 

4: No required training

Although O365 provides lots of new capabilities, employees won't need much training to use the applications. They likely already know what they're doing with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, so you'll just have to explain the new ones like Teams and SharePoint. Even then, they'll be used to the usual Office interface and won't necessarily require formal training. 

5: Skype for Business

O365 integrates seamlessly with Microsoft's Skype for Business. Skype consolidates business communications tools into a single, easy-to-use application. Its desktop and mobile conferencing solutions streamline interactions with employees and customers across the globe. Plus, additional services like CallTower Complete to your O365 license enables Skype for Business to boost your productivity and save valuable money.

6: One platform 

As a business owner or IT professional, you'll appreciate how O365 organizes all the different components you need to run your business. Instead of having separate solutions for VoIP, cloud storage, collaboration, and office applications, you can just have one that encompasses everything.  

7: Cost savings

And finally, although O365 requires a subscription, many businesses wind up saving money with it in the long-run. This Small Business Computing article explains how businesses save money by not having to buy conventional licenses for the entire staff: 

"Moving to O365 has resulted in considerable financial savings, Tikoian said. Purchasing conventional Office licenses for Levick's staff would have cost the equivalent of six years' subscription to O365. 'That would have been an up-front cost, rather than a cost spread over time. And with O365, we always have the most up-to-date software.'"

At any rate, the costs will be predictable. There are no hidden fees and you won't ever get surprised by an invoice.  Check out this Skype4B ROI Calculator.

Office 365 and Skype for Business makes life easier for business and their employees. You'll condense several solutions into one and employees will get more functionality without having to go through any training. 

Ready to learn more about Office 365 and Skype for Business?