For many businesses, managing a full complement of IT services in-house has become costly, complex, and inefficient. Companies of all sizes, in a variety of industries, are seeing the benefits of moving some or all IT functions off premises for a third party to manage.
Through managed services, businesses are able to keep IT costs in check, and technology — such as cloud, network, and data solutions — flexible and efficient. So business and IT leaders can focus on the big plans that add value to the organization.
Now, for many organizations, managed services make even more business sense: New small and midsize business customers can get Microsoft Office 365 with their new voice and data and managed services bundles — for no extra cost. Pairing managed services with Software-as-a-Service means businesses can reach even higher levels of productivity. Here are four ways Office 365, which includes cloud-enabled applications and other productivity services, helps businesses achieve more:
Collaboration
One function of Office 365 that’s particularly suited for collaboration is Groups, which helps teams within an organization work better together. Sales, for example, or a cross-functional team overseeing a new project, can have a single destination for file sharing and communication.
Data Security
In addition to the collaboration benefits, companies using managed services with Office 365 can ensure that they’re able to meet various data protection requirements. Managed services can eliminate the need to own and maintain redundant physical infrastructure for data backup and disaster recovery. And Microsoft’s Office 365 solutions are hosted in Microsoft’s secure data centers.
Flexibility
Managed services providers allow businesses to move some or all IT functions, or a mixture, to the cloud, depending on their specific needs. The same is true with Office 365. Customers can choose to use Office apps in a full cloud environment, on-premises only, or in a hybrid environment. For example, business customers can move some employees to the cloud but keep others on-premises for compliance or operational reasons.
Mobility
With Office 365, employees don’t have to be in the office to access their data. With anytime, anywhere access, businesses can count on the availability of worker productivity from virtually anywhere — thanks to a consistent and optimized experience across PCs, mobile devices, and browsers. And with desktop versions, users can get even more work done offline.
