Calendar apps have done wonders for the business world. They’ve made it so much simpler to schedule meetings with colleagues, manage projects, and increase productivity. But things can get sticky when you want someone outside of your organization to see your calendar. Thankfully, Office 365 tackles this challenge.

Share an Office 365 calendar with specific people

Click the Share button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. This will open an email window where you can enter the addresses of people you want to see your calendar.

From that window, you can limit how much of your calendar they see by choosing from Availability Only, Limited Details, or Full Details. The latter two will show recipients the meeting names and participants of events on your calendar, whereas Availability Only will simply display scheduled events as Busy. After you’ve sent the invitation, recipients receive an email with a link to view your calendar in a web browser.

Make an Office 365 calendar public

If you’d prefer to have a link that you can share in a variety of channels whenever you’d like, click the Publish Online button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. From the dropdown menu, first click Publish This Calendar, then Configure This Published Calendar. This will create a link that you can give to collaborators outside your organization. As long as you don’t change your calendar’s visibility, they’ll be able to open that URL and view your availability.

Share your calendar so others can manage it

Users who have administrative control over their Office 365 calendar can set up special sharing settings that allow someone else to send and respond to invitations. From the Account Settings window, click on the Delegate Access button. This window lets you add or remove delegators and configure how much control they have over your calendar.

Even something as simple as sharing your calendar outside your organization has the potential to increase office productivity and efficiency. If you have questions or concerns about managing various aspects of Office 365, get in touch with us today.

Collaboration, file sharing, and data management are made easier with Office 365. You can use its apps anytime, anywhere, and on any device, but do you really need all the features of the fully fledged subscription plan, or is a smaller package a better fit for your business? We’ve provided a list of the different features of each O365 plan to help you make the right choice.

Business or Enterprise

Office 365 Business and Enterprise are the obvious choices if you’re running cloud-based business systems. Both of these plans will give you access to the data management app Office Online and file hosting service OneDrive, but there are some notable differences between the two.

Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 plans have unlimited archive and mail storage space, while Business plans have a 50 GB storage limit. Furthermore, Business plans don’t provide archive access from the Outlook client.

In terms of SharePoint, a collaborative platform and document and storage system, Business plans are short on enterprise search, Excel services, and Visio — a diagramming and vector graphics app — features. They also lack in unified communication solutions, such as Power BI, an interactive data visualization tool, and Delve Analytics, which provides real-time work analytics to businesses.

With these points in mind, it may seem like Enterprise subscriptions are superior — and in some ways, they are — but Business plans are more suited for smaller companies running on a tight budget. Office 365 Business and Business Premium cost $10 and $15 per user per month, respectively, while the highest-end Enterprise plan costs $35 per user per month.

As a general rule, only consider subscribing to the Enterprise plans when your employee headcount exceeds 50 people and users require more storage space solutions. Otherwise, business plans are the perfect choice for you.

E1, E3. or E5?

Once you’ve decided to go for the Office 365 Enterprise plans, you need to choose which plan (E1, E2, or E5) suits your business requirements.

E1 offers basic solutions, such as Outlook, Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel for only $8 per month. It also provides access to SharePoint Team sites, video conferencing, and Yammer for social media for businesses.

E3, on the other hand, provides all E1 features together with data loss prevention, rights management, and encryption to ensure your business’s security and compliance.

Lastly, E5 is a full enterprise-grade solution with all the aforementioned features plus analytics tools, advanced threat protection, flexible Skype for Business conferencing, and unified communications solutions.

Small- and medium-sized businesses often select either E1 or E3 and subscribe to third-party applications for their cloud security and VoIP needs. But if you have the resources and prefer a single provider to manage your suite, the E5 plan is the way to go.

Migrating to Office 365 is not an easy task, and if you’re still undecided about which plan to opt for, contact us today. We won’t just provide Office 365; we’ll also assess your business to find the best plan that fits your budget and business goals.

With its state-of-the-art tools and features, Office 365 helps businesses manage data, share files, and improve team collaboration. You might be thinking of using this tool to improve your operations, but with the different Office 365 plans available on the market, how can you make sure that you’ll get your money’s worth? This article will help you choose the right plan for your business.

Business or Enterprise

Office 365 Business and Enterprise are the obvious choices if you’re running cloud-based business systems. Both of these plans will give you access to the data management app Office Online and file hosting service OneDrive, but there are some notable differences between the two.

Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 plans have unlimited archive and mail storage space, while Business plans have a 50 GB storage limit. Furthermore, Business plans don’t provide archive access from the Outlook client.

In terms of SharePoint, a collaborative platform and document and storage system, Business plans are short on enterprise search, Excel services, and Visio — a diagramming and vector graphics app — features. They also lack in unified communication solutions, such as Power BI, an interactive data visualization tool, and Delve Analytics, which provides real-time work analytics to businesses.

With these points in mind, it may seem like Enterprise subscriptions are superior — and in some ways, they are — but Business plans are more suited for smaller companies running on a tight budget. Office 365 Business and Business Premium cost $10 and $15 per user per month, respectively, while the highest-end Enterprise plan costs $35 per user per month.

As a general rule, only consider subscribing to the Enterprise plans when your employee headcount exceeds 50 people and users require more storage space solutions. Otherwise, business plans are the perfect choice for you.

E1, E3. or E5?

Once you’ve decided to go for the Office 365 Enterprise plans, you need to choose which plan (E1, E2, or E5) suits your business requirements.

E1 offers basic solutions, such as Outlook, Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel for only $8 per month. It also provides access to SharePoint Team sites, video conferencing, and Yammer for social media for businesses.

E3, on the other hand, provides all E1 features together with data loss prevention, rights management, and encryption to ensure your business’s security and compliance.

Lastly, E5 is a full enterprise-grade solution with all the aforementioned features plus analytics tools, advanced threat protection, flexible Skype for Business conferencing, and unified communications solutions.

Small- and medium-sized businesses often select either E1 or E3 and subscribe to third-party applications for their cloud security and VoIP needs. But if you have the resources and prefer a single provider to manage your suite, the E5 plan is the way to go.

Migrating to Office 365 is not an easy task, and if you’re still undecided about which plan to opt for, contact us today. We won’t just provide Office 365; we’ll also assess your business to find the best plan that fits your budget and business goals.

Office 365 has become the go-to all-in-one tool for businesses in recent years. With different Office 365 plans — Business, Business Premium, Enterprise E1, E3, and E5 — you can have a set of services and features that are perfect for your business. We’ve summarized a list of the different features of each plan to help you select the right one.

Business or Enterprise

Office 365 Business and Enterprise are the obvious choices if you’re running cloud-based business systems. Both of these plans will give you access to the data management app Office Online and file hosting service OneDrive, but there are some notable differences between the two.

Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 plans have unlimited archive and mail storage space, while Business plans have a 50 GB storage limit. Furthermore, Business plans don’t provide archive access from the Outlook client.

In terms of SharePoint, a collaborative platform and document and storage system, Business plans are short on enterprise search, Excel services, and Visio — a diagramming and vector graphics app — features. They also lack in unified communication solutions, such as Power BI, an interactive data visualization tool, and Delve Analytics, which provides real-time work analytics to businesses.

With these points in mind, it may seem like Enterprise subscriptions are superior — and in some ways, they are — but Business plans are more suited for smaller companies running on a tight budget. Office 365 Business and Business Premium cost $10 and $15 per user per month, respectively, while the highest-end Enterprise plan costs $35 per user per month.

As a general rule, only consider subscribing to the Enterprise plans when your employee headcount exceeds 50 people and users require more storage space solutions. Otherwise, business plans are the perfect choice for you.

E1, E3. or E5?

Once you’ve decided to go for the Office 365 Enterprise plans, you need to choose which plan (E1, E2, or E5) suits your business requirements.

E1 offers basic solutions, such as Outlook, Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel for only $8 per month. It also provides access to SharePoint Team sites, video conferencing, and Yammer for social media for businesses.

E3, on the other hand, provides all E1 features together with data loss prevention, rights management, and encryption to ensure your business’s security and compliance.

Lastly, E5 is a full enterprise-grade solution with all the aforementioned features plus analytics tools, advanced threat protection, flexible Skype for Business conferencing, and unified communications solutions.

Small- and medium-sized businesses often select either E1 or E3 and subscribe to third-party applications for their cloud security and VoIP needs. But if you have the resources and prefer a single provider to manage your suite, the E5 plan is the way to go.

Migrating to Office 365 is not an easy task, and if you’re still undecided about which plan to opt for, contact us today. We won’t just provide Office 365; we’ll also assess your business to find the best plan that fits your budget and business goals.

Microsoft today announced updates to its MyAnalytics platform and a new Outlook feature that are meant to help you work less, find more time to focus on the work that actually matters and, by extension, get more downtime.

Until now, for example, MyAnalytics, Microsoft’s tool for helping employees track their productivity, would provide you with a measure of how much time you spent working after hours. That’s not necessarily a healthy number to track. Going forward, MyAnalytics will track the number of days you managed to unplug after work and didn’t check your email or work on a document at 8pm (something Microsoft’s own PR department could learn from given that it has a tendency to provide essential press materials for next-day embargoes at 6:30pm). The idea here, obviously, is to get employees to focus on this number instead of how much they work when they are off the clock.

“Our customers often tell us they spend all day in meetings with little time to focus on pressing tasks and projects,” Microsoft communications chief Frank X. Shaw also noted in a press briefing ahead of today’s announcement.

To combat this, the company today launched a few new features that will let you set up regular “focus time.” The first of this is a tool that lets you set up focus time each week, as well as a feature in Microsoft teams that will alert your fellow employees when you are trying to get things done.

Because your colleagues often don’t care about your flow, though, and are prone to scheduling yet another unnecessary meeting during those times, Microsoft is also launching a new AI-powered Outlook plugin that will help you rebook your focus time and find times for focusing on specific to-do items.

In the future, the company also plans to introduce well-being, networking and collaboration plans.

Focus plans will become available in preview in the next few months for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users, with E5 customers getting them first.

Microsoft today announced updates to its MyAnalytics platform and a new Outlook feature that are meant to help you work less, find more time to focus on the work that actually matters and, by extension, get more downtime.

Until now, for example, MyAnalytics, Microsoft’s tool for helping employees track their productivity, would provide you with a measure of how much time you spent working after hours. That’s not necessarily a healthy number to track. Going forward, MyAnalytics will track the number of days you managed to unplug after work and didn’t check your email or work on a document at 8pm (something Microsoft’s own PR department could learn from given that it has a tendency to provide essential press materials for next-day embargoes at 6:30pm). The idea here, obviously, is to get employees to focus on this number instead of how much they work when they are off the clock.

“Our customers often tell us they spend all day in meetings with little time to focus on pressing tasks and projects,” Microsoft communications chief Frank X. Shaw also noted in a press briefing ahead of today’s announcement.

To combat this, the company today launched a few new features that will let you set up regular “focus time.” The first of this is a tool that lets you set up focus time each week, as well as a feature in Microsoft teams that will alert your fellow employees when you are trying to get things done.

Because your colleagues often don’t care about your flow, though, and are prone to scheduling yet another unnecessary meeting during those times, Microsoft is also launching a new AI-powered Outlook plugin that will help you rebook your focus time and find times for focusing on specific to-do items.

In the future, the company also plans to introduce well-being, networking and collaboration plans.

Focus plans will become available in preview in the next few months for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users, with E5 customers getting them first.

Microsoft is always ensuring that their popular cloud-based productivity suite, Office 365, is constantly being improved. Because of the great applications and support offered, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are continually migrating to the platform. If you are considering moving to Office 365, you should be aware of five factors that can cause a migration to fail so you can avoid them.

1. Slow internet connection speeds

To avoid this, ask an Office 365 provider to test your existing network connections to ensure that your internet connection can handle the migration and day-to-day operation of Office 365. If not, they should be able to offer you a more efficient solution.

Because Office 365 is primarily cloud-based, you are going to need a connection with a solid bandwidth. When migrating your files and system over to Office 365, you will likely need to consume a large quantity of bandwidth. This demand will often be enough to tax most small business lines, resulting in slower internet speeds all around during the process. Employees might struggle to do their jobs properly if they’re reliant on the internet, so it is recommended to do migrations during off hours.

Beyond this, Office 365 is most often delivered over an internet connection, rather than in-house servers. This means that the day-to-day demand for bandwidth will increase. If you are already noticing slow speeds and service interruptions before implementing Office 365, you will likely see these issues compounded after implementation.

2. Mailboxes and files are too big

While the business versions of Office 365 come with 100 GB of email storage and over 1 TB of file storage per user, getting your emails and files online could take a while, especially if you have users whose inboxes are approaching the storage limit.

As a general rule of thumb, larger files will cause the migration of files to take longer. If you don’t prepare for this, then you could see migration affecting work or even causing recurring issues of unavailable data when it’s needed.

To avoid this, encourage your staff to archive their email inboxes and either delete or remove emails with large attachments that aren’t necessary.

3. Uninformed users

The average Office 365 migration takes around one to three days, depending on the size of the business and the amount of data being carried over. If you start migration without informing users that some files and emails won’t be accessible during this period, or that some systems may not be working, you could end up with employees unable to do their jobs and creating resentment for the new platform.

Instead, inform your employees about how the migration will run and what they can expect during the process. Beyond this, you should run training sessions on how to use the new systems to ensure that everyone is briefed before they start to use them. This will increase the overall chance that the platform migration and subsequent use will be successful.

4. Older, less compatible software installed on systems

While many versions of Office 365 do come with subscriptions to the latest version of Microsoft Office, there’s built-in support for systems that are running slightly older versions of Office. If your business is using a version older than Office 2010 (e.g., Office 2003), you won’t be able to properly use Office 365.

Beyond this, you’ll also need to use the latest version of your internet browser. If you use Chrome or Firefox, this won’t be a problem. However, if you use Internet Explorer, you may run into issues, as Microsoft has already discontinued the program in favor of Microsoft Edge.

The good news about Office 365 is that actual systems requirements are low, so almost every business will be able to integrate it. We recommend that in order to be able to use all of Office 365’s features, ask your provider to ensure that your software and systems are compatible with it.

5. DIY migrations

On paper, migrating to Office 365 is a fairly simple and straightforward process. What many companies find when they do the migration themselves is that the process is much more difficult than expected. They come across unexpected issues that require an IT expert to solve.

In order to ensure a smooth migration, it’s a good idea to work with an IT provider like us. We can ensure that your systems are ready and the migration is smooth. Contact us today to learn more.

Microsoft Office 365 is continually becoming popular, with the number of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) implementing this cloud-based version of Office growing. Companies looking to migrate to the cloud-based service should be aware that migration can be fraught with peril. To help you avoid migration failure, here are five factors you need to avoid.

1. Slow internet connection speeds

To avoid this, ask an Office 365 provider to test your existing network connections to ensure that your internet connection can handle the migration and day-to-day operation of Office 365. If not, they should be able to offer you a more efficient solution.

Because Office 365 is primarily cloud-based, you are going to need a connection with a solid bandwidth. When migrating your files and system over to Office 365, you will likely need to consume a large quantity of bandwidth. This demand will often be enough to tax most small business lines, resulting in slower internet speeds all around during the process. Employees might struggle to do their jobs properly if they’re reliant on the internet, so it is recommended to do migrations during off hours.

Beyond this, Office 365 is most often delivered over an internet connection, rather than in-house servers. This means that the day-to-day demand for bandwidth will increase. If you are already noticing slow speeds and service interruptions before implementing Office 365, you will likely see these issues compounded after implementation.

2. Mailboxes and files are too big

While the business versions of Office 365 come with 100 GB of email storage and over 1 TB of file storage per user, getting your emails and files online could take a while, especially if you have users whose inboxes are approaching the storage limit.

As a general rule of thumb, larger files will cause the migration of files to take longer. If you don’t prepare for this, then you could see migration affecting work or even causing recurring issues of unavailable data when it’s needed.

To avoid this, encourage your staff to archive their email inboxes and either delete or remove emails with large attachments that aren’t necessary.

3. Uninformed users

The average Office 365 migration takes around one to three days, depending on the size of the business and the amount of data being carried over. If you start migration without informing users that some files and emails won’t be accessible during this period, or that some systems may not be working, you could end up with employees unable to do their jobs and creating resentment for the new platform.

Instead, inform your employees about how the migration will run and what they can expect during the process. Beyond this, you should run training sessions on how to use the new systems to ensure that everyone is briefed before they start to use them. This will increase the overall chance that the platform migration and subsequent use will be successful.

4. Older, less compatible software installed on systems

While many versions of Office 365 do come with subscriptions to the latest version of Microsoft Office, there’s built-in support for systems that are running slightly older versions of Office. If your business is using a version older than Office 2010 (e.g., Office 2003), you won’t be able to properly use Office 365.

Beyond this, you’ll also need to use the latest version of your internet browser. If you use Chrome or Firefox, this won’t be a problem. However, if you use Internet Explorer, you may run into issues, as Microsoft has already discontinued the program in favor of Microsoft Edge.

The good news about Office 365 is that actual systems requirements are low, so almost every business will be able to integrate it. We recommend that in order to be able to use all of Office 365’s features, ask your provider to ensure that your software and systems are compatible with it.

5. DIY migrations

On paper, migrating to Office 365 is a fairly simple and straightforward process. What many companies find when they do the migration themselves is that the process is much more difficult than expected. They come across unexpected issues that require an IT expert to solve.

In order to ensure a smooth migration, it’s a good idea to work with an IT provider like us. We can ensure that your systems are ready and the migration is smooth. Contact us today to learn more.

Office 365, the cloud-based version of Office, is one of the most popular software suites used by small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) today. With an ever-increasing number of companies migrating to this solution, it’s not surprising that many others are considering making the move. However, there’s always a chance of migration failure. Learn how to avoid this by knowing the five most common ways that Office 365 migration can fail.

1. Slow internet connection speeds

To avoid this, ask an Office 365 provider to test your existing network connections to ensure that your internet connection can handle the migration and day-to-day operation of Office 365. If not, they should be able to offer you a more efficient solution.

Because Office 365 is primarily cloud-based, you are going to need a connection with a solid bandwidth. When migrating your files and system over to Office 365, you will likely need to consume a large quantity of bandwidth. This demand will often be enough to tax most small business lines, resulting in slower internet speeds all around during the process. Employees might struggle to do their jobs properly if they’re reliant on the internet, so it is recommended to do migrations during off hours.

Beyond this, Office 365 is most often delivered over an internet connection, rather than in-house servers. This means that the day-to-day demand for bandwidth will increase. If you are already noticing slow speeds and service interruptions before implementing Office 365, you will likely see these issues compounded after implementation.

2. Mailboxes and files are too big

While the business versions of Office 365 come with 100 GB of email storage and over 1 TB of file storage per user, getting your emails and files online could take a while, especially if you have users whose inboxes are approaching the storage limit.

As a general rule of thumb, larger files will cause the migration of files to take longer. If you don’t prepare for this, then you could see migration affecting work or even causing recurring issues of unavailable data when it’s needed.

To avoid this, encourage your staff to archive their email inboxes and either delete or remove emails with large attachments that aren’t necessary.

3. Uninformed users

The average Office 365 migration takes around one to three days, depending on the size of the business and the amount of data being carried over. If you start migration without informing users that some files and emails won’t be accessible during this period, or that some systems may not be working, you could end up with employees unable to do their jobs and creating resentment for the new platform.

Instead, inform your employees about how the migration will run and what they can expect during the process. Beyond this, you should run training sessions on how to use the new systems to ensure that everyone is briefed before they start to use them. This will increase the overall chance that the platform migration and subsequent use will be successful.

4. Older, less compatible software installed on systems

While many versions of Office 365 do come with subscriptions to the latest version of Microsoft Office, there’s built-in support for systems that are running slightly older versions of Office. If your business is using a version older than Office 2010 (e.g., Office 2003), you won’t be able to properly use Office 365.

Beyond this, you’ll also need to use the latest version of your internet browser. If you use Chrome or Firefox, this won’t be a problem. However, if you use Internet Explorer, you may run into issues, as Microsoft has already discontinued the program in favor of Microsoft Edge.

The good news about Office 365 is that actual systems requirements are low, so almost every business will be able to integrate it. We recommend that in order to be able to use all of Office 365’s features, ask your provider to ensure that your software and systems are compatible with it.

5. DIY migrations

On paper, migrating to Office 365 is a fairly simple and straightforward process. What many companies find when they do the migration themselves is that the process is much more difficult than expected. They come across unexpected issues that require an IT expert to solve.

In order to ensure a smooth migration, it’s a good idea to work with an IT provider like us. We can ensure that your systems are ready and the migration is smooth. Contact us today to learn more.

Even if the subscription model is making more companies look like slow money drains, subscribing to Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365 is well worth the investment.

Office apps and the files you create with them are accessible wherever there’s an internet connection, but that is actually the bare minimum that O365 offers. If you go for either the Premium or Essentials bundle, you’ll gain access to communications and collaboration apps that you can use to increase your organization’s productivity. Here are some of the specific ways you can do this:

Build an engaging intranet using SharePoint

Unlike the internet, which is a megalithic network spanning the entire world, an intranet is basically a private network built for your employees’ exclusive use. It began as a repository for basic company information, then it evolved into a document management system, an HR portal (where staff can file leaves of absence), a platform for knowledge-sharing and discussion forums, and a social media platform where users are both consumers and pushers of company-centric content.

If you use Microsoft Word and Excel to create work files, SharePoint is the platform where your team can keep and share such files. Build forums that bolster collaboration, information libraries that help staff leverage collective knowledge, and message boards that inform and invite staff to engage with the goings-on inside the company.

Enjoy continuous collaboration with Teams

Microsoft brings collaborations up a notch with Teams, a tool that allows you to build shared workspaces. In a Teams workspace, each team member can share files as well as comment on and work on one another’s files. Imagine doing all of that via email — you’ll most likely weave a nightmarish tangle out of multiple threads and attachments.

Additionally, Teams has communications facilities such as web conferencing, group chat, and live online meetings. Since Teams can be used on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, workers can share information and connect frontline staff such as factory machine operators and sales clerks.

Coordinate your efforts with Planner

If Teams is O365’s communications hub, then Planner is its Kanban board — a project workflow visualization tool that lets you categorize tasks according to their progress status. A physical Kanban board is limited by the size of sticky notes used, but with Planner, you can assign tasks to team members, attach relevant files to them, and discuss tasks without leaving the app.

Automate tasks with Flow

There are tasks that promote critical thinking, but there are also tasks that are tedious and repetitive. An example of such a task is preparing an income statement. This usually involves emailing a finalized income statement to your superiors and archiving it. Automating the archive step alone would significantly ease this workflow.

With Flow, you can easily create detailed workflows that accomplish tasks automatically once you fulfill certain triggers. You can also make different apps “talk” with one another (e.g., have new OneDrive files be copied to your Dropbox account), provided that integrations allow them to do so. Imagine not having to shift between so many apps anymore — this will save your staff plenty of time and mindspace to do more worthwhile tasks that add more value to your company.

Let your staff step up from being mere individual Office suite users to being members of synergistic teams! Contact us to learn more about how you can squeeze every drop of value from your Office 365 subscription.

Microsoft’s Office suite has come a long way since it became cloud-enabled. While you can still opt for the company’s lifetime licenses, subscribing to Office 365 instead is the smarter choice.

Office apps and the files you create with them are accessible wherever there’s an internet connection, but that is actually the bare minimum that O365 offers. If you go for either the Premium or Essentials bundle, you’ll gain access to communications and collaboration apps that you can use to increase your organization’s productivity. Here are some of the specific ways you can do this:

Build an engaging intranet using SharePoint

Unlike the internet, which is a megalithic network spanning the entire world, an intranet is basically a private network built for your employees’ exclusive use. It began as a repository for basic company information, then it evolved into a document management system, an HR portal (where staff can file leaves of absence), a platform for knowledge-sharing and discussion forums, and a social media platform where users are both consumers and pushers of company-centric content.

If you use Microsoft Word and Excel to create work files, SharePoint is the platform where your team can keep and share such files. Build forums that bolster collaboration, information libraries that help staff leverage collective knowledge, and message boards that inform and invite staff to engage with the goings-on inside the company.

Enjoy continuous collaboration with Teams

Microsoft brings collaborations up a notch with Teams, a tool that allows you to build shared workspaces. In a Teams workspace, each team member can share files as well as comment on and work on one another’s files. Imagine doing all of that via email — you’ll most likely weave a nightmarish tangle out of multiple threads and attachments.

Additionally, Teams has communications facilities such as web conferencing, group chat, and live online meetings. Since Teams can be used on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, workers can share information and connect frontline staff such as factory machine operators and sales clerks.

Coordinate your efforts with Planner

If Teams is O365’s communications hub, then Planner is its Kanban board — a project workflow visualization tool that lets you categorize tasks according to their progress status. A physical Kanban board is limited by the size of sticky notes used, but with Planner, you can assign tasks to team members, attach relevant files to them, and discuss tasks without leaving the app.

Automate tasks with Flow

There are tasks that promote critical thinking, but there are also tasks that are tedious and repetitive. An example of such a task is preparing an income statement. This usually involves emailing a finalized income statement to your superiors and archiving it. Automating the archive step alone would significantly ease this workflow.

With Flow, you can easily create detailed workflows that accomplish tasks automatically once you fulfill certain triggers. You can also make different apps “talk” with one another (e.g., have new OneDrive files be copied to your Dropbox account), provided that integrations allow them to do so. Imagine not having to shift between so many apps anymore — this will save your staff plenty of time and mindspace to do more worthwhile tasks that add more value to your company.

Let your staff step up from being mere individual Office suite users to being members of synergistic teams! Contact us to learn more about how you can squeeze every drop of value from your Office 365 subscription.

It may seem as if Office 365 is merely Microsoft’s way of joining the online subscription bandwagon, but that’s not the case. O365 is Microsoft’s way of upgrading its ubiquitous Office suite by augmenting it with cloud features.

Office apps and the files you create with them are accessible wherever there’s an internet connection, but that is actually the bare minimum that O365 offers. If you go for either the Premium or Essentials bundle, you’ll gain access to communications and collaboration apps that you can use to increase your organization’s productivity. Here are some of the specific ways you can do this:

Build an engaging intranet using SharePoint

Unlike the internet, which is a megalithic network spanning the entire world, an intranet is basically a private network built for your employees’ exclusive use. It began as a repository for basic company information, then it evolved into a document management system, an HR portal (where staff can file leaves of absence), a platform for knowledge-sharing and discussion forums, and a social media platform where users are both consumers and pushers of company-centric content.

If you use Microsoft Word and Excel to create work files, SharePoint is the platform where your team can keep and share such files. Build forums that bolster collaboration, information libraries that help staff leverage collective knowledge, and message boards that inform and invite staff to engage with the goings-on inside the company.

Enjoy continuous collaboration with Teams

Microsoft brings collaborations up a notch with Teams, a tool that allows you to build shared workspaces. In a Teams workspace, each team member can share files as well as comment on and work on one another’s files. Imagine doing all of that via email — you’ll most likely weave a nightmarish tangle out of multiple threads and attachments.

Additionally, Teams has communications facilities such as web conferencing, group chat, and live online meetings. Since Teams can be used on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, workers can share information and connect frontline staff such as factory machine operators and sales clerks.

Coordinate your efforts with Planner

If Teams is O365’s communications hub, then Planner is its Kanban board — a project workflow visualization tool that lets you categorize tasks according to their progress status. A physical Kanban board is limited by the size of sticky notes used, but with Planner, you can assign tasks to team members, attach relevant files to them, and discuss tasks without leaving the app.

Automate tasks with Flow

There are tasks that promote critical thinking, but there are also tasks that are tedious and repetitive. An example of such a task is preparing an income statement. This usually involves emailing a finalized income statement to your superiors and archiving it. Automating the archive step alone would significantly ease this workflow.

With Flow, you can easily create detailed workflows that accomplish tasks automatically once you fulfill certain triggers. You can also make different apps “talk” with one another (e.g., have new OneDrive files be copied to your Dropbox account), provided that integrations allow them to do so. Imagine not having to shift between so many apps anymore — this will save your staff plenty of time and mindspace to do more worthwhile tasks that add more value to your company.

Let your staff step up from being mere individual Office suite users to being members of synergistic teams! Contact us to learn more about how you can squeeze every drop of value from your Office 365 subscription.