Microsoft 365 (formerly called Office 365) is Microsoft's growing line of client productivity software and cloud services provided on a subscription basis. Microsoft 365 applications and Azure services are offered in a selection of product bundles, known as subscription plans, aimed at customers ranging from students and households to global enterprises.
The most popular Microsoft 365 applications can be installed on a variety of devices including PCs, Macs, iPads, and iPhones and Android smartphones. These multi-device apps include versions of Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. PC-only apps include Access and Publisher for desktop publishing. To accommodate individuals with multiple devices, many subscription plans permit you to install Microsoft 365 apps on more than one device. As an example, Microsoft 365 Business and ProPlus subscription plans permit every Office application to be installed on as many as five customer devices.
Microsoft 365 apps need Internet access for program installation, registration, account control, and updates. The majority of packages include a PC version of Microsoft Office, which allows you to use applications offline, the same as with a legacy permanent Office license. When you return, your cloud-resident documents are automatically synchronized. Microsoft 365 cloud services include Exchange Online hosted email, Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business messaging and video conferencing, and OneDrive cloud-hosted storage and sharing. Microsoft 365 cloud-based services need an online connection.Progent offers quick and easy remote access to consultants with expertise in Microsoft, Mac, iOS, and Google Android products. Progent can help you to evaluate the numerous options offered with Microsoft 365 and configure your IT network with Microsoft 365 so it delivers maximum strategic advantage. Progent has experience supporting multi-vendor networks that incorporate Windows, macOS or OS X, and Linux technology. Progent can also help you to build and manage hybrid networks that transparently combine local and cloud resources.
Microsoft 365 Apps and Cloud Services
Microsoft 365 subscription plans are designed for a broad selection of markets including businesses of all sizes, education, government, home and nonprofits. Some plans, like Microsoft 365 Business Essentials, includes no apps but only Azure-based services. Other plans, like Microsoft 365 Business, offers apps but provides only the OneDrive cloud service. The high-end Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 package includes seven applications and seven cloud-based services. Progent's consultants can help you to pick an Microsoft 365 subscription plan that makes sense for your business, help you to move from older editions of Microsoft Office apps, and show you how to simplify the management of Microsoft 365 and other system resources to create an efficient, secure and reliable IT ecosystem.
Major Microsoft 365 Apps
The most obvious distinction between Microsoft 365 applications and their related Microsoft Office versions is that Microsoft 365 applications are rented instead of 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 edition is released. For example, upgrading from Office Word 2013 to Word 2019 requires you to buy another license for Word. Minor releases of Office titles are provided Microsoft 365 users sooner than to users of perpetually licensed editions. Also, Office suites bought with a perpetual license do not come with the cloud services packaged with Microsoft 365.
Client applications offered with various Microsoft 365 packages include:
Microsoft 365 Word offers the ability to write and review Office documents across Windows, Google Android, Apple Mac, and iOS computers while presenting a consistent look and user experience. You can also collaborate on Office documents, find out which team members are editing various shared projects, and see changes made by team members as they happen. As with Microsoft 365 Excel and Microsoft 365 PowerPoint, you can instantly share without leaving your documents. In addition, you can check who has permission to access a specific document and who is currently working on it. For your own documents, you can quickly modify edit permissions. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Word consulting and training expertise.
Microsoft 365 Excel permits you to use the industry-standard Exponential Smoothing algorithm to create forecasts for projecting future trends based on historical data. New linked data types that are tied to remote databases include Stock and Geography. The Stock data type retrieves the current stock price, change in price, and other equities information. Geography enables you to select a region and retrieve current demographic or economic data like population or gas costs. As with Microsoft 365 Word and PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 Excel also can handle Scalable Vector Graphics files. These images can be rotated, colored, and resized instantaneously with no deterioration in image quality. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Excel consulting expertise.
Microsoft 365 PowerPoint lets you work with three dimensional objects and provides an expanded selection of animation effects such as jumping and rotating. Like Microsoft Office Excel and Word, Microsoft 365 PowerPoint allows you to transform drawings into uniform shapes for flow charts, diagrams, and other objects. Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Mac includes the capability to incorporate and format video from inside PowerPoint. The Media Browser utility provides easy access to a broad selection of sources such as iPhoto galleries, iTunes playlists, and iMovie collections as well as standard shapes, Clip Art, and other graphics.
Microsoft 365 Outlook offers significant enhancements to previous versions of the Outlook email and calendar application by introducing features such as the focused Inbox, automatic downloading of OneDrive cloud attachments, display replies to a conference request for people other than conference organizers, streamlined email organizing, plus more intuitive group creation and shared calendars. In addition, Microsoft 365 Outlook subscribers can hear their messages read audibly as the sections being read are visibly highlighted. Microsoft's Office intelligent services, when activated, allows Microsoft 365 Outlook clients to dictate messages. Microsoft 365 Outlook for Mac now supports push email, online archiving, the ability to suggest a different meeting time in response to a meeting request, and multiple calendar display. Full Screen Mode permits multiple open emails and permits users to run two Outlook sessions in split-screen view. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Outlook and Outlook on the web consulting and training services.
Microsoft 365 OneNote for Windows 10 is included in the majority of Microsoft 365 bundles, installed by default in Windows 10, and offered for download as a free mobile application. The earlier OneNote 2016 version, which includes functions not initially provided in OneNote for Windows 10 such as Record Video, is still available at no cost but is not being updated. OneNote for Windows 10 introduces a new customizable look common for Windows 10, Apple Mac, iOS, Android, and Web. Other features available exclusively on OneNote for Windows 10 include enhanced ink-to-text, a notification center that shows changes in your open and recent notebooks, automatic transformation of freehand drawings into standardized shapes, and a virtual ruler to create straight lines and measure distance.
Microsoft 365 Access, available only on Windows PCs, enables you to utilize Visual Basic for Applications and an extensive library of templates to automate business processes and build advanced forms and management reports. Microsoft 365 Access comes with the connector library to extract data from a broad range of leading business apps and data sources for generating aggregated reports from within the familiar Access environment. Support for storing Access data in both SQL Server and Microsoft Azure SQL provides a world-class database plus SQL syntax for Access applications hosted either locally or in the Microsoft Azure cloud. Microsoft Access 365 now comes with an improved Linked Table Manager, allows you to add a wealth of new forms and management reports, and enables you to link or import data from Salesforce and Dynamics 365. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Access development and training services.
Microsoft 365 Publisher, offered exclusively on PCs, is a leading do-your-own desktop publishing system that leverages the familiar Office environment to deliver an easy-to-use program for creating and sharing professional-looking documents like mailers and white papers that require precise object placement control. Because publications can be stored in the cloud, you can distribute a document simply by providing a link. Publisher's wide use and simplicity allow you to meet deadlines on time-critical jobs without needing depend on instant access to a desktop publishing guru for implementing last-minute edits.
Microsoft 365 Cloud Services
Microsoft 365 cloud services allow you to leverage Microsoft's vast cloud infrastructure to host business-critical servers like Microsoft Exchange, Teams and Skype for Business. This provides high levels of reliability and security while saving the significant upfront costs and management effort required for setting up and maintaining complex local datacenters. For situations that require some systems to be located onsite for compliance, performance, or other issues, the majority of Microsoft 365 server products can be implemented with hybrid network models that transparently support on-premises and cloud-based resources.
Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides email hosting and supports user mailbox capacity ranging from 50 GB to unlimited. Key features include custom domain addresses (name@your�company.com), shareable calendars and contacts, a web version of Outlook, single-click archiving, and easy creation of collaboration groups. The online Exchange admin center allows you to control email configurations for your organization and provides complete control over critical areas such as user rights, security and compliance, mail flow, creating mailboxes and defining limits, collaboration, contact lists, Voice mail, monitoring, and backup/recovery. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and management consulting.
Microsoft 365 OneDrive is Microsoft's popular file sync and sharing platform. Microsoft 365 subscription plans typically come with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage, allowing you to store, retrieve, and share files across Microsoft Windows, Mac, or iOS and Android devices. By automatically syncing your files to your workstation, OneDrive lets you edit documents even when you are offline. OneDrive facilitates sharing and collaboration, keeping track all file updates to avoid inconsistency issues. You can begin a team project on any computer and switch smoothly to another computer at any time. For advanced collaboration, an array of utilities allow you to notate and highlight documents. Advanced discovery tools allow you to find files fast, and analysis tools offer insights like the number of people who accessed or shared a document.
Microsoft 365 Skype for Business Online offers cloud-hosted IP voice, video, and conferencing. Online Plan 1 includes IM, presence, peer-to-peer VoIP, and video calling, plus federation and directory search. Online Plan 2 adds pre-scheduled and ad hoc conferencing with A/V calling plus screen and app sharing on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, Windows PCs, and Apple Mac computers. For hybrid environments that integrate a local Skype for Business Server with Skype for Business Online services, you can deploy a cohesive environment using a Split Domain deployment. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Skype for Business Online planning and configuration expertise.
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online combines content management with intranet publishing to enable businesses to distribute and share information and to promote teamwork. SharePoint's admin center now includes interactive usage reports, Message Center posts, and a Service Health dashboard designed to simplify management. In addition, you are able to link up-to-date SharePoint team sites to Microsoft 365 Groups, expanding your existing SharePoint sites with group conversations, calendar, and Planner. Features to support cloud integration now include hybrid taxonomy and hybrid auditing as well as an enhanced development architecture for creating SharePoint environments locally, in hybrid implementations, and in Microsoft 365. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online integration and development services.
Microsoft Teams is the future of Skype for Business, offering a single portal for discussions, contacts, and content with persistent chat, file sharing, plus integrated voice and video conferencing. Microsoft has designed the cloud environment that hosts Teams so it can deliver faster meeting join times than Skype and to enable integration with Microsoft Cognitive Services like transcription, translation, speech recognition, and AI. Progent can assist you to try out Microsoft 365 Teams to evaluate the advantages of utilizing this next-generation communication technology. Find out about Progent's Microsoft Teams solution design consulting.
Microsoft 365 Yammer is a social network product designed to be used inside an organization and limited to users who have an authorized company email address. Postings can include files, web links, media, PowerPoint shows, and SharePoint content. The Discovery feed helps you locate information relevant to your job or concerns as indicated by the groups you have joined, conversations you participate in, and colleagues you correspond with. You can locate conversations, files, groups, followers, and other information associated with a given colleague. Group Insights show you how events such as publishing, viewing, and liking are trending over time. Notifications tell you about pertinent activity like new postings in your groups, comments in your conversations, and new participants.
Microsoft 365 Power BI is a stack of online services integrated with Microsoft 365 that allows you to build and share dashboards and on-demand reports that offer up-to-date consolidated views into vital facets of your business. Microsoft 365 Power BI dashboards can consolidate information from a broad array of internal and outside repositories like Microsoft Excel, in-house SQL Server Analysis Service, Azure, or popular databases like QuickBooks, Google Analytics and Salesforce. Dashboards and reports developed on Power BI can be refreshed in real time via data streaming. You can store and distribute your visualizations in the cloud with Microsoft 365 OneDrive. Native Power BI mobile apps are offered for Windows computers as well as Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Power BI Online development consulting services.
How Progent's Cloud Experts Can Assist You with Microsoft 365 Solutions
For organizations who need fast remote help from a top-tier Microsoft 365 integration expert, Progent offers a comprehensive range of support services including system planning, configuration, troubleshooting, application development, management, and training. Progent's Microsoft-certified integration consultants, Cisco-certified network infrastructure engineers, macOS and OS X integration support professionals, iPhone and iPad integration experts and Android experts can help you to enhance your information network with Microsoft 365 products and services.
Progent's ProSight family of Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) Services
Progent provides a selection of low-cost, flat-rate services intended to allow small and medium-size businesses to utilize the same cutting-edge technology used by some of the world's top corporations. The ProSight line of IT management outsourcing services addresses all critical aspects of modern networking such as email protection, behavioral-based threat defense, automated backup and disaster recovery, network infrastructure management, VM cloud hosting, and IT resources documentation management. Find out more about Progent's remote management and monitoring (RMM) services.
Contact Progent for Microsoft 365 Integration and Support
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Cloud Integration Solutions from Progent
The options offered for public cloud products and services are increasing continually, making it difficult for information system managers to determine the best cloud solution for their business. Progent has worked extensively assisting businesses of all sizes to design, implement, and manage hybrid networks that combine multiple cloud services from major public clouds. Progent's cloud integration consultants can help you to understand the relative benefits and pitfalls of different public cloud options and can show you how to build a cloud-centric or hybrid ecosystem that delivers maximum business value.
Public cloud products and services supported by Progent include:
Progent's Azure integration experts can help you with every aspect of Microsoft Azure migration such as needs analysis, prerequisites assessment, solution design, pre-production testing, implementation, centralized management, performance tuning, software license controls, disaster recovery strategies, security policy enforcement, and regulatory compliance validation. Progent can help you to configure and debug firewalls and VPN connections so your clients can securely connect to Azure resources, and Progent's Microsoft-certified consulting experts can assist you integrate key Microsoft platforms to work in Azure including Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL and Skype for Business. Progent can also assist your organization to set up a hybrid ecosystem that seamlessly combines on-premises datacenters with Azure-based services.
Microsoft has made a strong effort to enable seamless hybrid networks that integrate Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange deployments. This allows you to have specific Exchange mailboxes hosted at your corporate datacenter and other mailboxes hosted by Microsoft 365. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can help you with any phase of planning, integrating and troubleshooting your hybrid Exchange network. Progent's Exchange consultants can deliver as-needed expertise to help you through stubborn technical problems and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your hybrid Microsoft 365/Exchange solution is carried out on schedule and within budget. For more information about Progent's online consulting services for hybrid Microsoft 365 Exchange and on-premises Exchange systems, refer to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration with on-prem Exchange.
Progent's Amazon AWS integration consultants offer affordable online consulting to help companies of any size to access Amazon AWS cloud services including Amazon EC2 for virtual machine hosting, Amazon S3 for scalable low-latency storage, and Amazon Glacier for low-cost archival storage. Progent can assist your IT team with every aspect of Amazon AWS migration and troubleshooting including requirements analysis, preparedness evaluation, architectural design and review, pilot testing, configuration, centralized administration, performance tuning, licensing management, disaster recovery solutions, and security strategies. Progent offers advanced expertise with firewall configuration and VPN access and can help you deploy all-cloud or hybrid ecosystems that efficiently integrate Amazon AWS services. Progent offers occasional expertise or Progent can provide comprehensive project management outsourcing or co-sourcing services to help you move efficiently to the Amazon AWS platform.
Amazon Marketplace Web Service is a library of APIs that allows Amazon sellers to streamline their business processes by automating crucial sales activities such as listings, orders, shipments, inbound and outbound fulfillment, and finances. By leveraging Amazon's extensive online selling environment and automating their sales, vendors can broaden their market, reduce their operating costs, improve response time to customers, and add to their profits. Progent's Amazon Marketplace Web Service consultants can work with your development team and provide application programming, workflow integration, project management support, and training so you can shorten development time and speed up your return on investment.
Progent's Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration experts can provide affordable remote and on-premises support to assist businesses of any size to migrate any part of their critical IT resources to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This can save time and hardware expense and enable access to Google's cutting edge machine learning technology. Progent can assist you with every phase of Google Cloud Platform migration and troubleshooting including needs analysis, readiness assessment, architectural design, pilot testing, configuration, centralized administration, performance optimization, licensing management, backup/restore mechanisms, and security and compliance.