How Office 365 Can Streamline Your Operations
Office 365 is Microsoft’s comprehensive business productivity suite. Learn how you can use its features to streamline your business operations.
Business across the globe are raving about Office 365, Microsoft’s comprehensive productivity suite. Comprised of various apps, Office 365 offers cloud functionality and customizable business tools fit for organizations large and small. Are you getting the most out of Office 365? Here are several features that can help your business streamline operations across just about every department.
Alliance Technology Partners, An IT consulting company in St. Louis shares their experiences working with Microsoft Office 365.
Companywide File Access
Microsoft SharePoint serves as a pool that securely stores your organization’s documents. Team members can share links with one another and keep tabs on updates in real-time. SharePoint also lets users view all versions of a document and revert to an older version if needed. All of these features eliminate the hassle and confusion of emailing files back and forth.
Secure Sharing and Access Control
Office 365 integrates the features of the lauded OneDrive. With it, team members can open, edit, save, and share files on any internet-connected device. Whenever a file is updated, the edits are automatically saved across all associated apps and devices. You can set access controls, permissions, and guest access options to fit the needs of your organization.
Stress-free Scheduling
Gone are the days of emailing multiple event reminders across the organization. With the SharePoint calendar, you can schedule meetings and project deadlines for everyone in your organization to see. The ease of use ensures that you and your employees know what’s happening at a given date and time. SharePoint calendars also integrate seamlessly with Outlook calendars and vice-versa.
Smart Notetaking
SharePoint lets teams create notebooks to churn out ideas, collect files, share links, schedule meetings, and assign tasks. Like most Office 365 features, SharePoint notebooks let users grant access and permissions, view and restore previous versions of the notes, and collaborate on notes in real time.
Project Management
Office 365’s Planner provides a user-friendly platform for collaboration. Team members can assign tasks, share files, and update tasks in real-time. The details of a task are specified on a card, on which users can set dates, attach documents, and add notes. As users make progress on a task, Planner automatically updates to reflect the changes.
Your Digital Secretary
Delve learns which documents you access the most and displays them to you at specified dates and times. Whenever you view or edit a document, Delve takes note and compiles a list of what you need and when. The app customizes its display based on the user, helping save time and boost productivity across the organization. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled in Outlook, Delve will display all relevant documents on your home page ahead of time.
Conference Calling Made Easy
Office 365 makes conference calling easy with Skype for Business. Whether your colleagues are located next door or across the globe, Skype for Business lets you video chat, voice calls, and instant messages across multiple devices. Your calls will go on seamlessly even while you edit documents, share presentations, and hop from one device to another. You can host conference calls with up to 250 people. Simply drag and drop people you want to add to the meeting.
Mastering the many apps and features offered by Office 365 will help you create, share, and collaborate like never before. The flexibility of these tools lets you use them in a way that fits the needs and goals of your organization. Take time to explore Office 365, and chances are you’ll find more helpful features in addition to the ones listed above.