What is Microsoft 365?

Introduction

The vast majority of people who have used computers in the past thirty years have used Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Or at some point sent emails using Outlook or messaged others on Skype.

So you’ve probably heard of Microsoft Office, a collection of business software that includes the well-known Word programme. The tools in the suite are used by millions of contemporary businesses for document creation, communication, and bookkeeping. But there’s much more to Microsoft 365 than most users are aware.

Many businesses start their digital transformation with Microsoft 365. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are just a few of the programmes that have been combined into the Microsoft 365 Suite and made available via the cloud for secure, anytime, anywhere access. So, what exactly is Microsoft 365 you might ask?

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that was previously known as Office 365. It adds to and complements the Microsoft Office product line. The brand was introduced on July 10, 2017, as a superset of Office 365 products that also included licences for Windows 10 Enterprise and other cloud-based security and device management products.

It includes subscription plans that give you unlimited access to the Microsoft Office software suite and cloud-based software-as-a-service products for business environments like hosted Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, and SharePoint. Unlike traditional licences for these programmes, which require purchasing a new licence for new versions, all Microsoft 365 plans include free automatic software updates.

In addition to the best-in-class productivity apps from Office 365 that you already know and love, it offers advanced device management, clever security, and potent cloud services to revolutionise how people work. However, it is more than just a collection of products. The interconnectedness and intelligence of Microsoft 365 provide the features and capabilities required by businesses for comprehensive digital transformation.

Microsoft 365 Suite Features

These features are web-based tools that allow you to securely collaborate and communicate across multiple devices and Microsoft 365 services. By combining digital content creation, storage, and management with social tools for user discovery and sharing, these features aid the formation of new connections within your organisation.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise Apps

Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise is a subscription-based suite of desktop apps that includes the familiar Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise provides intelligent capabilities such as Ideas in Excel, Researcher in Word, real-time collaborations, Teams as the teamwork hub, and advanced security features. You can access and collaborate on your files from anywhere with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage. We help businesses integrate their workflow seamlessly into this cloud environment.

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms makes it easy to create custom quizzes, surveys, questionnaires, registrations, and more. You can invite others to respond to a quiz or form you created using any web browser or device. You can use built-in analytics to evaluate responses as they are submitted. Data from these forms can be easily exported to Excel for further analysis or grading.

Microsoft Kaizala

With its ability to connect and engage people inside and outside a company’s directory, Microsoft Kaizala is a straightforward and secure mobile work management app that adds unique capabilities to Microsoft 365. The open directory model used by Kaizala enables identity based on phone number for quick onboarding and a straightforward user interface for messaging and task management. Kaizala Users can send instant messages and attachments like photos, documents, videos, audio files, and more.

Microsoft Lists

You can track information and organise your work using the Microsoft Lists app from the Microsoft 365 suite. You can keep track of what is most important to your team, and use customizable views and smart rules to track issues, assets, routines, contacts, inventory, and more to keep everyone informed and in sync.

Microsoft Stream

Microsoft Stream is an enterprise video service that allows employees in your organisation to securely upload, view, and share videos. You can distribute recordings of classes, meetings, presentations, training sessions, or other videos that will help your team collaborate. Microsoft Stream also allows you to easily share video comments and tag time codes in comments and descriptions to refer to specific points in a video.

Microsoft Planner

With the help of Microsoft Planner, users can arrange teamwork visually. Teams can organise and delegate tasks, share files, chat about what they’re working on, set due dates, and update status in addition to creating new plans. Additionally, Microsoft Planner allows users to link documents to particular tasks, collaborate on editing those documents, and communicate about tasks.

Microsoft Power Apps

Microsoft Power Apps enables you to quickly create, integrate, and share apps that function on any device. With Power Apps, you can connect your app to cloud and on-premises services like Microsoft 365 and Office 365, Dynamics CRM, OneDrive, SharePoint, SQL Server, Oracle databases, and more by using pre-existing connections or custom ones created by your business. You can quickly share your Power Apps with coworkers by entering your email address.

Microsoft Power Automate

You can automate workflows between various applications using Microsoft Power Automate among other things. It can also be used to synchronise files between apps, copy files from one service to another, collect data from one app and store it in another, connect email and IM alerts, and more.

Microsoft Sway

Microsoft Sway is an enterprise digital storytelling tool that enables you and your colleagues to share ideas on an interactive, web-based canvas. Without extensive formatting or additional training, you can create expert, visually appealing reports, presentations, and more with Microsoft Sway’s built-in design engine. To achieve the specific look and feel you desire, you can also alter the results. Microsoft Sway makes your creation look fantastic in any browser on any screen, and it can be shared with coworkers and clients by sending a link. Drag and drop your images, text, videos, and charts directly onto your canvas with the aid of Microsoft Sway, which makes it easy to find and gather a variety of content without leaving the application.

Microsoft To-Do

Microsoft To-Do is a task management tool that enables users to schedule their days and manage all of their tasks from any device.

Customers who use Microsoft To-Do can:

• Sync their tasks between Outlook, Teams, Planner, and other programmes.
• Use My Day - a personalised daily planner with suggested tasks.
• Access their lists anywhere or on any platform and device.
• Share lists and assign tasks with coworkers.

Microsoft Whiteboard

A freeform, digital canvas, Microsoft Whiteboard brings together people, content, and ideas. Whether your team is located in one location or spread out across several, you can use Whiteboard to collaborate with them to complete a variety of tasks. Each team member can use their own device to collaborate.

How can Microsoft 365 help your business?

Microsoft 365 can give your business unlevelled capabilities and help you and your team perform more efficiently by

1. Being productive anywhere: You can get work done and stay connected whether you’re working remotely or onsite. You can chat, call, and host meetings with Microsoft Team, Share documents in the cloud, Collaborate using Office apps and connect via email and calendar.

2. Securing your business: Microsoft 365 can help safeguard your business data with built-in security features, defend against cyberthreats, make customer data more secure, help secure your devices and manage users more effectively

3. Getting a cost-effective solution: Your business can streamline IT setup, management, and costs with a single productivity solution, improve user productivity, save on automation and IT costs, consolidate vendor spending and reduce the cost of security risks.

Summary

As the world becomes more cloud-connected, IT management tools that can support this digital transformation are more important than ever. Microsoft 365 provides modern, integrated IT management resources to help you simplify deployment and updates, manage users and devices flexibly, protect your business proactively, and boost end-user productivity.