Over the last couple of years, Microsoft releases have not been considered newsworthy, until the unveiling of Microsoft office 365. This upgraded and advanced productivity suite is the closest to cloud that does not disclose the Microsoft client applications and server. Among the features it brings include emails, Office Web Apps, Office 2010 professional plus and collaboration. Here are some of the reasons you should have it.
The main reason why companies have been reluctant to use the cloud is security. Fortunately, Microsoft had this in mind when they put the service together. All the applications of Office 365 use the 128-bit SSL/TSL encryption. The idea behind this encryption is to block any outside party that manages to intercept a transmission from reading it.
Reliability has also been a major concern among many Microsoft users, especially when it comes to the cloud connectivity. Productivity of workers would be lost in case of downtime, and this would interpret a loss for the company. The best thing about online services from Microsoft is that they have a scheduled uptime of 99.9 percent and allow for a service legal agreement. In addition, Microsoft has several data centers all over the world, meaning that in case one fails, another can act as a back up.
In order to do business effectively, you must meet the set compliance standards. The office 365 is no exception. The program meets the compliance standards of ISO 27001, has passed the SAS70 type I and II audits and gained the EU safe harbor seal. In addition, it allows you to keep up with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as it comes with user-friendly controls.
With the current economy, more and more companies are finding it hard to upgrade to the ever-changing operating systems. The good thing about Office 365 is that you do not have to upgrade your OS. You can use it with Windows 7, Vista, and Windows XP SP3. While it does not support merged identity, you can also use it on XP media center edition or Home edition.
Another great benefit of using this service is that it enables you to access all the features and functionality of the latest server products from Microsoft. These services run on Lync, Sharepoint 2010 and exchange 2010 sp1. For Windows, Microsoft Lync 2010 is the client software and the enterprise edition has an additional licensing for Office 2010 Professional Plus.
Microsoft Office Web Apps are integrated into the office 365, but rather than overriding the office applications with full features, it complements them. The best thing about these applications is that you can access them from anywhere, meaning you do not have to be in the office to do a quick edit of a certain project. It comes with the familiar traditional interface you are used to and your documents are displayed in the same way as in the desktop applications.
Lync Online acts as the communications service feature of Office 365. When using this feature, the best thing about it is that you do not need to be on the corporate network to access it. It is possible to access it directly over the internet, but sharing of files will not be applicable in this situation.
