Microsoft 365 (previously branded Office 365) is Microsoft's expanding line of client productivity applications and cloud services provided on a subscription basis. Microsoft 365 apps and Azure services are available in a variety of product bundles, known as subscription plans, intended for markets ranging from individual and households to global enterprises.
The most popular Microsoft 365 applications can be run on multiple computers such as Windows PCs, Apple Macs, iPads, and iPhones and Android smartphones. These multi-device apps include versions of Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. PC-only applications include Microsoft Access and Publisher for desktop publishing. To address users who have multiple computing devices, many subscription plans permit you to put Microsoft 365 applications on several devices. For example, Microsoft 365 Business and ProPlus bundles permit every included application to be installed on as many as five devices.
Microsoft 365 applications need Internet connectivity for installation, activation, account control, and updates. Most subscription plans include a PC edition of Microsoft Office, which allows you to run programs offline, the same as with a legacy permanent Microsoft Office license. When you return, your cloud-resident documents are automatically synchronized. Microsoft 365 cloud-based services include Exchange Online email hosting, Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business messaging and web conferencing, and OneDrive cloud-hosted storage and sharing. All Microsoft 365 cloud-based services need an active online Internet connection.Progent offers fast and affordable online access to a support consultant with expert knowledge of Microsoft, Mac, iOS, and Android technology. Progent can assist you to evaluate the many options available with Microsoft 365 and integrate your IT system with Microsoft 365 in a way that delivers the highest possible strategic advantage. Progent has experience supporting cross-platform networks that incorporate Windows, Apple macOS or OS X, and Linux based products. Progent can also assist you to create and manage hybrid environments that seamlessly integrate on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure.
Microsoft 365 Apps and Cloud-based Services
Microsoft 365 subscription plans are available for a broad range of markets including businesses of all sizes, schools, government, home and nonprofits. Some packages, like Microsoft 365 Business Essentials, includes no applications but only cloud services. Others, like Microsoft 365 Business, offers applications but provides only the OneDrive cloud-based service. The high-end Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 subscription plan includes seven applications and seven cloud services. Progent can assist you to pick an Microsoft 365 subscription plan that makes sense for your business, assist you to move from outdated versions of Office applications, and show you how to streamline the management of Microsoft 365 and other system resources to create a cost-effective, protected and productive IT environment.
Key Microsoft 365 Apps
The obvious distinction between Microsoft 365 applications and their related Microsoft Office versions is that Microsoft 365 applications are subscription based rather than sold. In addition, traditionally licensed Office applications are allowed to be run on just a single PC or Mac and are not updated automatically or upgraded for free when a major new version comes out. For example, upgrading from Word 2013 to Word 2019 requires that you buy a brand new license for Word. Incremental releases of Office apps are made available to Microsoft 365 users sooner than to owners of perpetually licensed editions. Also, Office suites bought with a permanent license do not come with any of the Azure-based services packaged with Microsoft 365.
Client applications available with various Microsoft 365 packages include:
Microsoft 365 Word offers the ability to create and view Office files across Windows, Android, Apple Mac, and iOS devices while presenting a consistent look and feel. Users can also collaborate on documents, see which colleagues are working on various shared projects, and observe changes made by others as they happen. Just as with Microsoft 365 Excel and PowerPoint, you can instantly share from within your documents. Additionally, you can review who has rights to access a given document and who is currently working on the document. For your own documents, you can easily change edit permissions. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Word consulting services.
Microsoft 365 Excel now allows subscribers to employ the standard Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to build forecasts for projecting trends based on past data. New linked data types that are tied to remote databases in real time include Stock and Geography. The Stock data type downloads the current stock price, change in price, and other equities information. The Geography data type enables you to designate a country and retrieve current online demographic or economic data like population or gas price. As with Microsoft 365 Word and Microsoft 365 PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 Excel also supports Scalable Vector Graphics images. These can be rotated, colored, and resized instantaneously without any loss in quality. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Excel consulting and training expertise.
Microsoft 365 PowerPoint lets you work with 3D objects and features an expanded library of animation effects such as swinging and rotating. Like Office Excel and Office Word, Microsoft 365 PowerPoint enables you to transform sketches into uniform shapes for flow charts, diagrams, and other objects. Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Mac includes the capability to incorporate and edit video from within PowerPoint. The Media Browser utility provides convenient access to a broad range of media sources such as iPhoto albums, iTunes playlists, and iMovie libraries plus shapes, Clip Art, and other graphics.
Microsoft 365 Outlook provides significant improvements to prior releases of the Outlook email and calendar app by adding features such as the focused Inbox, transparent downloading of OneDrive attachments, display replies to a conference request for people other than conference organizers, simplified email sorting, plus more intuitive group creation and shared calendars. Also, Microsoft 365 Outlook subscribers can hear their messages read aloud as the segments being read are highlighted. Microsoft's Office intelligent services, when activated, also allows Microsoft 365 Outlook subscribers to dictate emails. Microsoft 365 Outlook for Mac now supports push email, online archiving, the ability to propose a different meeting schedule in response to a meeting invitation, and multiple calendar display. Full Screen Mode permits multiple open messages and enables subscribers to run two Outlook sessions in split-screen. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Outlook and Outlook on the web configuration and troubleshooting services.
Microsoft 365 OneNote for Windows 10 is included in the majority of Microsoft 365 bundles, installed by default in Windows 10, and available for download as a free mobile application. The older OneNote 2016 version, which includes features not initially provided in OneNote for Windows 10 such as Record Video, continues to be available at no cost but is no longer being updated. OneNote for Windows 10 sports a fresh customizable GUI common for Windows 10, Apple Mac, iOS, Google Android, and Web. Other functionality offered exclusively on OneNote for Windows 10 include improved ink-to-text, a notification center that shows changes in open and recent notebooks, automatic transformation of drawings into standardized shapes, and a digital ruler to create straight lines and make measurements.
Microsoft 365 Access, offered only on PCs, allows you to use Visual Basic for Applications and a rich library of templates to streamline business operations and build advanced forms and management reports. Microsoft 365 Access includes the connector library to integrate data from a broad range of popular business apps and data sources for creating quality reports from within the time-tested Access environment. The ability to store Access data in both SQL Server as well as Azure SQL gives you a world-class back end and SQL syntax for Access apps hosted either locally or in the Azure cloud. Microsoft Access 365 now includes an updated Linked Table Manager, allows you to add new charts and reports, and permits you to link or extract data from Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Access consulting services.
Microsoft 365 Publisher, offered exclusively for Windows PCs, is a popular entry-level desktop publishing tool that leverages the familiar Office environment to provide an easy-to-use program for creating and sharing modern-looking documents like datasheets and white papers that require exact object placement. Because documents can be saved to the cloud, you can deliver a document as easily as providing a link. Publisher's wide use and simplicity allow you to hit deadlines for time-critical jobs without needing depend on instant access to a desktop publishing expert for implementing last-minute changes.
Microsoft 365 Cloud Services
Microsoft 365 cloud services permit organizations to take advantage of Microsoft's vast cloud infrastructure to host mission-critical servers like Exchange, Teams and Skype for Business. These services provide enterprise-class levels of availability and protection while reducing the significant upfront costs and management effort required for deploying and maintaining complex on-premises computer facilities. For situations that call for some systems to be kept onsite for regulatory compliance, performance, or other issues, the majority of Microsoft 365 server platforms can be deployed using hybrid architectures that transparently combine on-premises and cloud-hosted infrastructure.
Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers email hosting and allows mailbox sizes ranging from 50 Gbytes to unlimited. Key features include custom domain addresses, shared calendars and contacts, the Outlook Web app, single-click archiving, and easy creation of collaboration groups. The online Exchange admin center lets you control email configurations for your company and gives you complete control over crucial areas such as user rights, security and compliance, mail flow, making mailboxes and defining limits, team work, contact lists, Unified Messaging, monitoring, and backup. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and administration consulting.
Microsoft 365 OneDrive is Microsoft's popular file sync and share platform. Microsoft 365 subscription plans usually include 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage, allowing you to store, access, and share data across Windows, Mac, or iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. By transparently syncing your files to your desktop, OneDrive lets you edit documents even when you are not connected to the Internet. OneDrive facilitates sharing and collaboration, keeping track all changes to help prevent versioning issues. You can begin a team project on any device and move smoothly to a different device at your convenience. For enhanced collaboration, a variety of tools allow you to notate and highlight shared documents. Advanced discovery tools help you to locate files fast, and tracking tools offer insights such as the number of people who saw or shared a document.
Microsoft 365 Skype for Business Online offers cloud-based voice, video, and conferencing. Skype's Online Plan 1 offers instant messaging, real-time presence, peer-to-peer VoIP, and video calling, plus federation and directory search. Online Plan 2 includes pre-scheduled and on-demand conferencing with A/V calling plus screen and application sharing on Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones and tablets, Windows PCs, and Apple Mac computers. For hybrid networks that combine an on-premises Skype for Business Server with Skype for Business Online cloud services, you can create a seamless environment via a Split Domain deployment. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Skype for Business solution design and integration expertise.
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online integrates information management with internal web publishing to allow businesses to broadcast and share knowledge and to promote teamwork. SharePoint's admin center now includes interactive usage reports, Message Center posts, and a Service Health dashboard designed to streamline administrative tasks. Also, you are able to now connect current SharePoint team sites to Microsoft 365 Groups, expanding SharePoint sites with group discussions, schedules, and Planner. Innovative capabilities to support cloud coexistence now include hybrid taxonomy and auditing plus an enhanced development architecture for building SharePoint solutions locally, in hybrid deployments, and in Microsoft 365. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online configuration and development services.
Microsoft Teams is the future of Skype for Business, offering a unified portal for meetings, contacts, and information with persistent threaded chat, file sharing, plus built-in IP voice and video conferencing. Microsoft has enhanced the cloud architecture that hosts Teams to deliver quicker meeting join times than Skype and to enable integration with Microsoft Cognitive Services such as transcription, language translation, speech recognition, and AI. Progent can help you to try out Microsoft 365 Teams to assess the benefits of utilizing this innovative communication platform. Learn more about Progent's Microsoft Teams solution design consulting.
Microsoft 365 Yammer is a social network product designed to be used within an enterprise and limited to users with a verified company email address. Postings can include files, web links, videos, PowerPoint shows, and SharePoint pages. The Discovery feed helps you find content relevant to your work or interests as shown based on groups you belong to, conversations you participate in, and colleagues you correspond with. You can find discussions, files, interest groups, participants, and other items related to a particular colleague. Group Insights inform you how events like publishing, reading, and liking are trending over time. Notifications tell you about pertinent events like updates in your groups, comments in your discussions, and new participants.
Microsoft 365 Power BI is a stack of cloud services integrated with Microsoft 365 that enables businesses to build and share dashboards and on-demand management reports that provide real-time consolidated views into key facets of your business. Microsoft 365 Power BI dashboards can aggregate data from multiple local and external repositories like Excel, in-house SQL Server Analysis Service, Azure, or popular databases like Zendesk, Google Analytics and Salesforce. Dashboards and reports developed on Power BI can be updated in real time via data streaming. You can store and share your visualizations in the cloud with OneDrive. Native Power BI mobile applications are available for Windows devices plus iOS and Google Android smartphones and tablets. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Power BI Online integration consulting and training.
Planning Activities for Microsoft 365 Migration
Progent offers the support of a Cloud Solutions Architect to help your company to design a smooth move to Microsoft 365 customized for your IT environment. Before proposing this migration project, Progent's cloud consultant will conduct a set of information gathering tasks that include running utilities like IdFix, the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer (ExBPA), and specialized scripts for viewing your AD, messaging, and Mobile Device Management (MDM) setup. Key information that cannot be discovered with these techniques will be determined via discussions with your IT staff.
Activities managed by Progent in creating an optimal Microsoft 365 migration plan can include:
Progent's ProSight family of Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) Services
Progent provides a family of affordable, fixed-price managed services designed to allow small and mid-size businesses to benefit from the same best-of-breed IT solutions used by some of the industry's top corporations. Progent's ProSight series of network monitoring and management services addresses all key aspects of information technology such as email content filtering, security and compliance, cloud-based backup/recovery, network infrastructure health monitoring, VM cloud hosting, and IT asset documentation management. Find out more about Progent's remote management and monitoring services.
Contact Progent for Microsoft 365 Integration and Support
If you are trying to find a Microsoft 365 consultant, call Progent at
Cloud Integration Solutions from Progent
The choices offered for public cloud services are increasing rapidly, making it hard for IT managers to select the best cloud solution for their business. Progent has in-depth experience assisting businesses ranging from startups to large enterprises to design, implement, and manage hybrid environments that combine multiple cloud products and services from major public cloud providers. Progent's cloud integration consultants can assist you to understand the comparative benefits and shortcomings of different public cloud options and can show you how to build a cloud-based or hybrid ecosystem that provides maximum business value.
Public cloud products supported by Progent include:
Progent's Azure cloud integration consultants can assist you with any aspect of Microsoft Azure migration including needs analysis, prerequisites evaluation, solution architecture, pilot testing, deployment, automated management, performance tuning, license management, disaster recovery strategies, security policy enforcement, and compliance validation. Progent can assist you to set up and troubleshoot firewall appliances and VPN connections so your clients can safely access to Azure resources, and Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you integrate critical Microsoft platforms to run in Azure including Microsoft Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server and SharePoint. Progent can also assist you to set up a hybrid environment that transparently combines on-premises datacenters with Azure-based resources.
Microsoft has made a strong effort to enable seamless hybrid networks that integrate Microsoft 365 Exchange Online and on-premises Exchange. This permits you to have specific Exchange mailboxes located at your corporate datacenter or private cloud and other mailboxes resident on Microsoft 365. Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange consultants can assist your organization with any facet of designing, integrating and troubleshooting your hybrid Exchange solution. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide as-needed expertise to help you through stubborn technical issues and also can provide comprehensive project management outsourcing or co-sourcing to ensure your hybrid Microsoft 365/Exchange initiative is completed on schedule and on budget. To learn more about Progent's consulting support for integrating Microsoft 365 Exchange and on-prem Exchange environments, refer to Exchange Online integration solutions with on-premises Exchange.
Progent's Amazon AWS planning and integration consultants can provide cost-effective online support to help businesses to access Amazon AWS cloud services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for virtual server hosting, Amazon S3 for expandable cloud storage, and Amazon Glacier for low-cost archival storage. Progent can help your IT team with every phase of Amazon AWS integration including needs analysis, readiness assessment, system design and review, testing, deployment, administration, performance optimization, software license management, backup/restore solutions, and security strategies. Progent can provide advanced expertise with firewall configuration and VPN access and can show you how to create all-cloud or hybrid ecosystems that efficiently incorporate Amazon AWS resources. Progent offers occasional consulting or Progent can deliver project management outsourcing or co-sourcing to help you move efficiently to the Amazon AWS platform.
Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) is an integrated collection of APIs that enables Amazon sellers to improve the efficiency of their business processes by automating key sales activities such as listings, orders, payments, inbound and outbound fulfillment, and finances. By leveraging Amazon's extensive online ecosystem and automating their sales, merchants can broaden their market, lower their operating costs, improve response time to customers, and increase their profits. Progent's Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) developers can collaborate with your development staff and provide programming, workflow integration, project management support, and mentoring to help you shorten development time and expedite your ROI.
Progent's Google Cloud Platform (GCP) planning and integration consultants can provide affordable remote and on-premises support to assist businesses to move all or part of their core IT resources to Google Cloud Platform services. This can save time and hardware costs and enable access to Google's state-of-the-art AI and machine learning tools. Progent can assist you with every phase of Google Cloud Platform migration and troubleshooting including needs analysis, preparedness evaluation, architectural design, pilot testing, configuration, administration, performance tuning, licensing management, disaster recovery solutions, and security.