Thursday, 2 October 2014

All You Need To Know About Office 365

By Alex D White


After introducing Office 365, Microsoft has received plenty of publicity on the service. As such, you might be wondering if the service is right for you, a client, or your organization. Office 365 is basically the cloud version of Microsoft. You can connect with it on the internet, set up an account, make a subscription, download the necessary files and start working. You do not need any installation disks. You may want to know a few things about office 365 in order to know if it is for you.

The main distinguishing feature about the new service is the cloud. Cloud is a term used in the IT industry to describe an off site file hosting service. With Microsoft, you upload the files you want to use and synchronize them with Windows Sky Drive, which is cloud for Microsoft. You can then access them later on when needed from any location or device that has no office.

By now, you have probably gotten used to the desktop version of office. A couple of distinguishing features come with Office 365, including the office web apps. These applications are linked to SkyDrive via the internet. With office web apps, you can be able to access your files and edit them from any device without changing the format.

When installing Office 365, your computer needs to run on windows 7 or 8, while Mac users will need to install on computers running on OS X10.6 and above. Since this is an internet-based installation, you will also need to have internet access to install it, as well as to activate and manage your monthly subscription. A compatible browser such as Chrome 18, Safari 5, Firefox 12, and IE9 will also be needed.

The size of your organization will determine your subscription costs for the service. There are various plans for Office 365, from small business premium subscriptions to enterprise premium subscriptions. In a nutshell, you will need a small business premium subscription for an organization with less than 25 users, midsize business premium for 25 to 300 users, and enterprise premium plan for more than 300 users.

If you are using Office 2010 or 2013, you can still use the service. For Office 2007, however, it may loose some of the functionality. The good news is that you can access your files using the office web apps. Office 2013 users do not need to install the service if only to share files. You can still share files with your contacts by uploading them and inviting them to view the files.

You may be wondering why you need the service if the office web apps are free. While these apps are great for viewing files and editing them, it does not come close to being a substitute for the regular desktop version, not to mention office 365. The latter, for instance, allows you to view your files on multiple devices with no office, which the office web apps cannot.

Moreover, you do not have to worry about security with this service. Office 365 uses the same user-level security as the desktop version, as well as the similar Trust Centre. This enables you to set restrictions with the Rights Management Service that supports its encryption.




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