Microsoft 365, previously known as Office 365 until 21 April 2020, is a fantastic business tool that still provides you with the premium MS applications of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, amongst others – but it has been enhanced to give far more business utilities, which you may not yet know about.

Microsoft 365 Is Subscription-Based

Microsoft 365 is hosted online and is now a subscription-based, (instead of a license-based), platform which is highly beneficial in that you immediately receive any software or security updates – as soon as they are made available. It also allows companies to minimise their IT costs for infrastructure and maintenance, as it is hosted in the Cloud. Businesses who need to downscale in these turbulent times can quickly reduce their subscription plan to save costs, and increase it again when times are better. Need a guide in understanding which Microsoft plan is right for your business? Read this blog article to find out more.

Skype For Business Is Now MS Teams

This platform has made remote working far more straightforward, especially with its MS Team app. The app was previously known as Skype for Business and from June 2020 increased its capacity to allow up to 300 people on a meeting call and up to 49 people on a video call, although only nine people are visible at one time at this time of writing. However, Microsoft does have plans to increase this amount of people on video, which will align it with the likes of Zoom.

MS Word Has Had A 2020 Makeover

In terms of MS Word, which was first launched back in 1983, Microsoft has made the user experience a little more friendly. It is also now far easier to email documents to someone by simply pressing the “Share” button. Another wonderful, although still a little slow, is MS Word’s ability to convert speech to text. This option is only available for Microsoft 365 subscribers. All you need is a microphone and a reliable internet connection to draft memos, notes and letters.

MS Excel Is Now Easier Than Ever To Navigate

Microsoft has added a “Tell me what you want to do” feature to its Excel app which is a blessing in disguise – especially for inexperienced users, and it works really well! This functionality has also been extended to other MS apps but is useful in Excel.

There are a couple of other benefits to Microsoft 365 which are worth a mention:

• You have the convenience of having all your applications in one place and can easily switch between them.
• The latest MS tools are far more flexibility and have a lot more functionality.
• Depending on your type of subscription, Microsoft 365 can be used offline and will sync again when you re-establish your internet connection. Great for business travellers.
• You can integrate virtually any other app with it.

Microsoft still retains Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, OneNote, OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange and many other of their traditional and new collaboration tools. Users have a choice of Microsoft subscription plans for personal, family, small business or enterprise use.

Whether it is email accounts, word processing functionality, financial spreadsheets, presentation, calendars or meetings, Microsoft 365 has the tools that allow the work to get done productively.

For more advice or assistance with a subscription, contact Westech, a premium IT support company in Sandton.