In these ever-changing times, the ability for an organisation to adapt and change is what will allow you to stand out from competitors, continue to serve customers, and ensure you maintain momentum. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing more and more businesses prepare for social distancing by setting up their systems to allow for remote work and collaboration. At eStorm, we’ve been supporting our customers to ensure they are set-up and using Office 365 to its full potential.
Whether working on a PC, Mac or mobile device from home or in the office, Office 365 is providing workplaces with the tools to continue driving efficiency and productivity. Here are just a few ways Office 365 can support your business in working remotely:
Real-time collaboration
For businesses to continue operating and supporting customers, collaboration on projects and tasks needs to continue. Office 365 provides multiple tools to ensure collaboration doesn’t stop when teams are working remotely. The Microsoft Office suite most of you are used to gives you the ability to have more than one person working on a Word document or Excel file at the same time, and be able to see each other’s work — great for collaboration.
To take it to the next level, there are also a number of newer tools such as SharePoint, Skype for Business and Teams — all designed to help your organisation achieve its goals and provide greater opportunities for workplaces when working remotely.
Teams
Teams is a Microsoft Office 365 tool that allows you to keep your teams communicating, collaborating and working together no matter what location they’re in! The Teams tool is used by businesses to support teams of all sizes, from small teams of 2-5, to large teams of 20-30, even to bigger groups of 100+. No matter the size of your team, Teams provides a great option for organising projects and getting the right people together to have conversations and meetings.
Teams also works as a way of recording and tracking conversations, and offers an easy format for online meetings and chat sessions. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen more and more businesses take advantage of Teams to ensure they are delivering projects, communicating in a timely manner and continuing to achieve their organisation’s goals.
Microsoft is currently offering a free version of Teams during the COVID-19 pandemic — learn more about the free version and speak to us about how we can support you to set-up Teams today.
A simple tip for your employees when using Teams to facilitate group chats while working remote — if you’re somewhere with a distracting background, there is a handy little ‘background blur’ tool to help reduce distraction and keep teammates focused.
Secure Cloud file storage
Office 365 also allows your team to access files from anywhere, in a secure and safe manner. The cloud-based storage, OneDrive, provides global accessibility and real-time collaboration to support your business in working both in-house and remote as needed. It allows for full visibility, control and collaboration for internal and external stakeholders, as you can easily share documents and control who can view and edit each file.
Microsoft Office 365 also offers enterprise solutions when it comes to ensuring your business’s documents and work stays secure. Its collection of threat-protection technologies helps protect against spam, malware, viruses, phishing attempts, malicious links, and other cyber threats to your business.
Continuation of business
The huge benefit of Office 365 to businesses is that it offers an easy way to continue ‘business as usual’ no matter what challenges may come your way. The tools are there to help your teams collaborate, plan workflows and tasks, and manage projects. With Office 365, your business can continue to meet its goals and deliver services/products to your customers.
Need help to get your business working remote using Office 365?
At eStorm, we offer Office 365 support and troubleshooting, as well as deliver general IT Managed Services. What does that mean exactly? With a wide range of plans, deployment options and services, our IT experts can get your business set up and working efficiently in no-time. With access to the latest information and deals on offer, our team is here to support you during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.
