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Myth Busting Monday: Office 365 Updates Will Break our Business Applications

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Office365-Logo-and-textYour business depends on your employees being able to use business-critical applications.  You want and need your applications to be available and reliable, and the integration with Office needs to work.

Office 365 is Designed to Work with Your Business Applications

Microsoft is committed to Office 365 compatibility with the tools you use every day. They do this by:

  • Using one worldwide standard for desktop applications with the familiar tools you use and love, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
  • Minimizing object model and API changes in updates and fixed that might interfere with other applications. Chances are, if your business application works with Office 2010, 2013, or 2016 today, it will work with Office 365.
  • Closely collaborating with leading software vendors, providing them with tools, and helping them test and maintain compatibility with Office 365.
  • Providing you with best-practice guidance for update management and software development.
  • Allowing side-by-side installation of Office 365 ProPlus with older versions of office, giving you and your software vendors time to address any issues.

With a clear commitment backed by action, Microsoft lowers the risk of compatibility issues with Office 365 in ways that exceed their historical support for MS Office.

This is the ninth post in a multi-part series designed to help companies better assess the opportunity and value of cloud-based solutions. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation Cloud Advisor session to discuss your priorities and plans.

Myth-Busting Monday: Cloud is All or Nothing

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Office365-Logo-and-textCloud computing is too often touted as the Holy Grail and the absolute future of information technology and services. The term “cloud computing” is overused to the point that most small and midsize business (SMB) decision makers remain confused about which products and services are actually “cloud”.  With the hype and confusion, comes the misperception and fear that moving your business to the cloud is an all-or-nothing decision.

Nearly All Cloud Implementations Start with a Hybrid Approach.

While diving into the deep end can be fun, you are safer and will have more fun if you first learn how to swim. We recommend that you start by moving specific applications or “workloads” to the cloud in a way that integrates with the rest of your systems and services.

For many, the first splash comes from email, calendars, and contacts. Moving from Exchange/Outlook to Office 365 gives you first-hand experience with the convenience, reliability, simplified management, and mobile accessibility of cloud solutions. We will include flotation devices, such as advanced spam/virus protection, email archiving/ediscovery, and encryption services to make sure you comply with regulations and policies. With unlimited support, you have a life raft to ensure your team will swim, not sink.

Your second swim is where the business value of cloud begins to grow. You improve your ability to collaborate, with additional communication tools and file sharing services. With tools ranging from Skype for Business and OneDrive to Sharepoint and Planner, you can streamline businesses processes. Your team learns to work together more efficiently.

Future swims quickly compound the business value of your cloud services, as you move business processes and applications.  The focus is to simplify your IT while improving the way you work. You can scale your resources to meet your needs, without big capital projects and without wasting your existing investments.

Start by defining your business goals and objectives, using these to drive your IT and information services priorities. From there, we can create a roadmap to the cloud that is pragmatic, effective, and affordable.

Looking to create or update your cloud strategy? Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation Cloud Advisor session to review your goals and create a roadmap.

This is the fourth of a multi-part series designed to help companies better assess the opportunity and value of cloud-based solutions.