Whether a young start-up with a few employees or an established company with a large workforce, Microsoft Office 365 offers solutions for companies of all sizes and easily adapts to your requirements.
This cloud solution can increase the flexibility of the work process, reduce capital costs and simplify administration for IT professionals working on a project. Users have unlimited time and space access to the necessary MS Office applications and advanced collaboration and synchronization of documents on different platforms.
Practically every employee can take advantage of what MS Office 365 online brings to the table. Access documents from anywhere can solve many typical problems: On the way to a business meeting on the train, you can comfortably work on the monthly billing, and colleagues have the opportunity to add something to your presentation quickly. Discover the many benefits that Office 365 Business offers you on your business paths!
With Office 365, you can use the Microsoft apps conveniently on your PC, tablet, and smartphone. That means you are no longer tied to one place but can work from practically anywhere in the World!
The sending of files back and forth has come to an end because the latest versions are always available to anyone with authorization.
You also don’t need to worry about outdated software: Thanks to Office 365, you always work with the best and most up-to-date programs.
Technical support is included in the price for the entire duration of the contract!
WORK FROM ANYWHERE!
The most widely used products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are, of course, all included in Office 365 because almost everyone needs them in their daily work. Due to the increasingly flexible work locations (for example, in the home office or on the way to a meeting), companies need solutions that guarantee that you can do the work from anywhere.
With Office 365 web apps, you can use locally installed program versions and work very flexibly with online Office 365 via a browser or an app. Here the operating system does not matter because Microsoft Office 365 runs perfectly on an Apple Mac, Windows PC, and a smartphone or tablet with iOS or Android.
So here is more detailed information on what you are getting for the Microsoft Office 365 products and what you can expect from each app!
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
Microsoft Outlook is an application that is mainly used to send and receive email. You can also use it to manage various types of personal information, including calendar appointments and similar entries, tasks, contacts, and notes.
Outlook offers powerful filters and ways to organize, stream, label, and search messages. Search folders automatically collect all items that match specific criteria. You can quickly and thoroughly find any message in any folder or account.
With Microsoft Outlook, you can sync your personal data with your phone, tablet, and other computers, as long as you can sign in with your Microsoft account.
Outlook uses powerful spam and phishing filters to move spam messages to your junk email folder automatically. Those filters are easy to use and efficiently filter junk files; you can set the filtering level to control how aggressive these filters work.
Besides being convenient and ubiquitous, Outlook is also becoming very often a virus target. Despite or because of this story, Outlook is doing everything it can to protect your privacy and security.
PROS:
- Outlook comes with reliable, efficient spam filtering and blocks phishing attempts;
- Fast, flexible search, virtual folders, conversations, and mail grouping help you organize your mail;
- Outlook integrates email messages, to-do lists, scheduling, and social media updates well.
CONS:
- Outlook is a little confusing to set up and use due to its many options;
- You cannot create smart folders, flags, or rules;
- Outlook is missing useful message templates;
MICROSOFT EXCEL:
Microsoft Office Excel is a spreadsheet program that lets you store, organize, and analyze information.
You might be under the impression that Excel is only used by a specific group of people performing very complex tasks. But you are wrong! Anyone can master this software and use all its power to solve their everyday tasks.
Initially, Excel was created exclusively for work in the office since only an organization could afford such a luxury as a computer. But over time, computers began to appear more and more in the homes of ordinary people, and the number of users gradually increased. At the moment, almost every family has a computer, and most of them have Microsoft Office installed.
Excel allows you to work with a variety of data formats which makes it very flexible. You can manage your home budget, make both simple and very complex calculations, store data, organize various diaries, draw up reports, build graphs, charts, and much, much more.
PROS:
- Excel is still the most fully-featured spreadsheet software out there;
- Excel is compatible with a large number of file formats
- The implementation of algorithms in a spreadsheet does not require any special programming knowledge;
- Table cells can contain not only formulas but also simple text;
- It can handle large data sets;
- You can save your files in a wide range of different formats
CONS:
- It’s challenging to work collectively in this system even two people cannot use the same file at the same time;
- You can’t collapse all tabs into a single sheet which can be frustrating;
- The software has poor performance when working with large amounts of data.
MICROSOFT WORD
Microsoft Word is, by far, the most popular word processing software and was on sale in the late 1990s. The software is equally popular with home users and many businesses.
Microsoft Word is a program for typing, as well as composing various texts and documents. In other words, Microsoft Word (abbreviated as Word) is a program for typing and formatting text, and it’s designed to create texts of varying complexity. You can create an article, document, diploma, and even a book – everything is up to you!
In addition, Word allows you to design the text beautifully, choose the style and color of the font to your liking, add a picture or photo to it, and even create a table. Google has its own version, and you are probably familiar with it. It’s called Google Docs.
You can easily say that Microsoft Word is a modern typewriter, only more convenient and functional. When you open the program, you see blank paper in front of you, on which you can type text using the keyboard. The program will automatically add sheets if your text does not fit on one. Also, the printed text, if necessary, can be easily corrected and corrected.
PROS:
- Versatility;
- Reliability;
- Takes up little space in the memory of your device;
- Convenient interface;
- Speed;
- Saves time;
- Supports documents of various formats;
- Wide range of distribution;
- Convenient management and settings are available for personalization.
CONS:
- The formatting can sometimes get messy and difficult to apply;
- Only one person can make corrections at any given time;
- Poor spelling and grammar checker;
- Images can be hard to position;
- Microsoft Word files are considerably larger than text files.
MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most straightforward and most convenient programs for creating digital presentations and slideshows. It was first developed by Forethought Inc. for the Macintosh computer in 1987 and acquired by Microsoft in 1990. Since then, Microsoft has released several updated versions, each of which offers more new features and includes better technologies than what came before.
Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to create vivid and visual presentations, consisting of a set of slides and including text, images, tables, graphs, diagrams, flowcharts, 3D models, audio, video. Ready-made presentations are suitable for playing on large screens, including with a movie projector.
The program offers a variety of presentation design templates depending on the topic: business, education, marketing, and others. Users can create their own PowerPoint templates, as well as download the latest themes from Microsoft.
The application includes advanced tools for formatting text, building various types of charts and graphs, working with images, shapes, and multimedia.
It is possible to apply animated effects to individual slide objects and when transitioning between slides, for example, fading, dissolving, etc. The program also allows you to configure the events that will occur when you click or hover the mouse over the selected objects.
Versions of PowerPoint are available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, as well as mobile devices. The main format for saving files in PowerPoint is PPTX (PowerPoint Open XML Presentation). The program also supports other formats, including the PPT, PPSX, PPSM, POTX, POTM, PDF, GIF, JPG, PNG, etc.
PROS:
- Easy to use, extensive features;
- A lot of templates to choose from;
- Suggested formatting helps you arrange your slide more easily;
- You can insert pics from your computer and the Internet with ease;
- Spell check available.
CONS:
- A lot of low-quality templates;
- Some of the templates look out of date;
- PowerPoint wants everything to be saved in OneDrive.
MICROSOFT ONENOTE
Microsoft OneNote is a powerful tool for capturing your digital and handwritten notes in one place! In its most basic terms, OneNote can simply be called a digital notebook application. But that definition is hardly fair given the wide range of powerful features it possesses.
The OneNote desktop version app on Windows is part of Office 2019 and Microsoft 365, but it can also be downloaded as a standalone app and used independently on any PC.
OneNote helps you collect virtually any digital information (such as text, images, files, audio and video clips, pictures, saved web pages) and effectively manage and organize it. Plus, OneNote lets you share content and collaborate with others, making it an essential productivity tool!
Therefore, whether you are a student looking to take more noticeable classroom notes or an author looking for ideas for your next novel/column, or simply someone with a lot of digital information to work with, you should definitely consider using OneNote.
OneNote is arguably one of the most powerful note-taking software out there. And one of the reasons for that is that it is modeled based on an actual physical notebook, or more appropriately, a collection of notebooks. This makes it much easier for the user to work with the software.
OneNote lets you lock specific sections of a notebook with a user-supplied password. This can be extremely useful when you need to share or collaborate on your laptop with other users but do not want them to access certain content in it.
PROS:
- Very comfortable and easy to use;
- User-friendly interface;
- Very convenient;
- Has great mobile versions;
- OneNote can sync with OneDrive;
- You can create shared notebooks for collaborative data sharing;
- Easy access to notes.
CONS:
- Formatting can sometimes be hard;
- Limited styling and formatting options of the notes.
MICROSOFT ONEDRIVE
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud-based service that connects you to all of your files. Just like Google has Google Drive, and Apple has iCloud, Microsoft provides OneDrive for people who store and exchange online data. If you’re a Microsoft office 365 apps user, you can access it anytime from the OneDrive website.
You get 5 GB of free OneDrive file storage when you sign up for OneDrive, but if you need more space, you’ll have to pay to get more storage. You can get 1 TB of OneDrive space for free with most Office 365 plans, which means OneDrive also makes it easy to sync and share information and documents between Windows devices.
OneDrive is often used for business purposes because it allows employees to share documents, track projects, automatically enter data, collaborate on the Internet, protect their data, and more.
PROS:
- Easy to use;
- You can create links and exchange files with others;
- Good synchronization with Office 365;
- Integrated ecosystem.
CONS:
- Maintaining a real-time synchronization on all of your devices can be challenging;
- Privacy concerns;
- Collaboration is only limited to Gmail;
- Lack of third-party app integration.
MICROSOFT TEAMS
The Microsoft Teams app is a chat-based collaboration platform for online meetings and other business communication needs. It’s used to keep your team connected and organized.
The tool also supports video conferencing, screen sharing, and customizable backgrounds. Even a “together mode” gives you the impression that you and the person you are talking to are in the same room. For collaboration, besides talking, there is document sharing.
Microsoft Teams is part of Microsoft 365, and although it was only introduced in 2017, it has become a popular tool for small businesses worldwide!
The popularity of MS Teams is easy to explain. As the Internet grows more and more and teams work remotely, they need software that can communicate between people, and productive collaboration becomes a top priority for the business.
The software has a simple design and is easy to customize to your specific needs. You can customize notifications to appear on the screen, which helps keep everyone in the loop and on the same page.
Another advantage is that everything is in one place. Because Microsoft Teams is integrated with Microsoft 365, teams can move from instant messaging to email and document collaboration. In addition, the program is constantly being improved. With development and integration, Microsoft Teams can genuinely be enjoyed by everyone!
PROS:
- Conveniently distribute tasks;
- Keep’s enterprise plans well organized;
- Increases Team Productivity;
- Very Easy to Implementation;
- Integration of all tools in a single place;
- Useful chat additions;
- Helpful bots.
CONS:
- Lack of notifications;
- Confusing File Structures;
- Different Online Meeting Experience;
- Limited Flexibility;
- No unified search for all products.
MICROSOFT PLANNER
It’s used for personal and group planning with a simple card-like interface.
Microsoft Planner is a tool that helps you gather the elements of your project and create a project plan with a start, middle, and end. MS Planner is part of a suite of tools that Microsoft offers to project managers and their teams.
This software is a lightweight application that you can use on both mobile devices and desktop computers. It can help project managers and their team plan and assign tasks when viewed from a project management perspective. In addition, there is a chat function to facilitate collaboration and graphs showing progress.
Think of it as a way to organize your team and tasks, much like in Slack and Trello. Microsoft is positioning this tool for more casual tasks with a focus on personal use.
PROS:
- User-friendly interface;
- Schedule View;
- Adding team members to tasks and boards is easy;
- You can assign a task to multiple team members;
- Improves enterprise mobility;
- You can import Microsoft Planner to Outlook;
- Receive email notifications;
- Easily set due dates on tasks.
CONS:
- No time tracking;
- You can’t add non-team members to tasks;
- No access to dashboards outside the project team;
- No multiple checklists for every task;
- Only one checklist per task is allowed.
MICROSOFT SHAREPOINT
Microsoft SharePoint (like other MS services such as Active Directory) is more complex software designed for more specific user needs.
The full name – Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies – indicates that Microsoft has released not one product but a whole collection of programs. All of them are designed to solve a single set of tasks: to create a comfortable environment in which enterprise employees could productively interact with each other, store, organize and find information, and manage work processes. It can also be used as a system for creating and managing internal and external sites.
Like all products of the Microsoft family, SharePoint is easy to learn, easy to use, and freely integrates with all MS Office applications. That allowed the platform to quickly gain the love and acceptance of users around the World and led to widespread use of SharePoint online in a wide variety of industries.
PROS:
- Extensive Range of Features;
- Office 365 Integrations;
- Integration with other Systems;
- Customization.
CONS:
- Complex to Maintain and Use;
- Expensive Implementation and Customization;
- Extensive Range of Features;
- Integrations Require Extra Development Effort.
BOTTOM LINE
With all the services that Microsoft Office 365 web apps provide to the users, we can definitely say that they can be accommodating for increasing business productivity and everyday activities in general! All the apps can be accessed from anywhere and also from any device (Personal Windows/Mac laptop, tablet, phone, any device with a browser or Outlook client installed).
With a significant focus on mobility and flexibility, Office 365 allows you to never miss everything important to you!
Make the next step and see which Office 365 plan best suits your personal goals!