Cloud Integration Services

Microsoft 365 (formerly called Office 365) is Microsoft's expanding line of productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft 365 applications and cloud services are available in a selection of packages, or subscription plans, aimed at markets ranging from individual and households to global corporations.

The most popular Microsoft 365 titles can be deployed on a variety of computers including PCs, Macs, iPads, and iPhones and Android smartphones. These multi-device applications include versions of Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. PC-only apps include Access for database management and Microsoft Publisher. To accommodate users with multiple computing devices, many Microsoft 365 subscription plans allow you to put Microsoft 365 applications on several devices. For example, Microsoft 365 Business and ProPlus subscription plans permit every included application to be installed on as many as five customer devices.

Progent can provide fast and affordable remote access to a support consultant with expert knowledge of Microsoft, Mac, iOS, and Android technology. Progent can help you to understand the numerous options offered with Microsoft 365 and configure your IT system with Microsoft 365 so it delivers maximum competitive value. Progent has experience supporting cross-platform networks that incorporate Windows, macOS or OS X, and Linux technology. Progent can also assist you to deploy and manage hybrid environments that transparently integrate on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft 365 Apps and Cloud-based Services
Microsoft 365 packages are designed for a broad selection of users including businesses, education, state and local government, home and nonprofits. Some subscription plans, such as Microsoft 365 Business Essentials, includes no apps but only cloud services. Others, like Microsoft 365 Business, includes applications but provides only the OneDrive cloud-based service. The high-end Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 subscription plan includes seven apps and seven cloud-based services. Progent can help you to pick an Microsoft 365 plan that makes sense for your business, help you to move from outdated editions of Office apps, and show you how to unify the management of Microsoft 365 and other system resources to create a cost-effective, secure and productive IT environment.

Key Microsoft 365 Apps
The most obvious distinction between Microsoft 365 apps and their associated Office releases is that Microsoft 365 apps are rented rather than perpetually licensed. In addition, traditionally licensed Microsoft Office applications are supposed to be installed on only a single PC or Mac at a time and are not patched automatically or upgraded at no extra cost when a major new version comes out. For example, moving from Office Word 2013 to Word 2019 requires that you purchase another copy of Word. Minor updates to Microsoft Office titles are made available to Microsoft 365 subscribers faster than to users of permanently licensed versions. Also, Office suites purchased with a perpetual license do not come with any of the Azure-based services bundled with Microsoft 365.

Applications available with different Microsoft 365 plans include:

Microsoft 365 Word includes the ability to write and review Office files across Windows, Android, Apple Mac, and iOS devices while maintaining a consistent look and user experience. Users can also collaborate on documents, find out which colleagues are editing various shared documents, and see updates made by team members in real time. Just as with Microsoft 365 Excel and PowerPoint, you can easily share from within your documents. Additionally, you can check who has permission to access a specific document and who is now working on it. For your own documents, you can easily modify edit permissions. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Word consulting and training services.

Microsoft 365 Excel permits subscribers to employ the industry-standard Exponential Smoothing algorithm to build forecast charts for predicting trends using historical data. New data types that are tied to online databases in real time include Stock and Geography. The Stock data type downloads the current stock price, change in price, and other equities information. Geography allows you to designate a region and extract current demographic or economic information like population or gas price. As with Microsoft 365 Word and PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 Excel also supports Scalable Vector Graphics images. These images can be rotated, colored, and resized instantly without any loss in quality. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Excel consulting and training expertise.

Microsoft 365 PowerPoint supports three dimensional objects and includes an expanded selection of animation functions like swinging and turning. Like Microsoft Office Excel and Office Word, Microsoft 365 PowerPoint enables you to transform drawings into uniform shapes for charts, diagrams, and various other objects. Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Mac adds the capability to incorporate and edit video from inside PowerPoint. The Media Browser utility provides convenient access to a wide range of media sources such as iPhoto albums, iTunes playlists, and iMovie libraries plus standard shapes, Clip Art, and other graphical content.

Microsoft 365 Outlook provides significant enhancements to prior versions of the Outlook email client app by introducing features like the focused Inbox, automatic downloading of OneDrive attachments, display replies to a conference invitation for people who are not conference organizers, streamlined email organizing, plus easier group creation and shared calendars. Additionally, Microsoft 365 Outlook users can have their messages read out loud while the sections being read are visibly highlighted. Microsoft's Office intelligent services, when enabled, also allows Microsoft 365 Outlook clients to dictate emails. Microsoft 365 Outlook for Mac now supports push email, online archiving, the ability to suggest an alternative meeting schedule in response to a meeting request, and multiple calendar display. Full Screen Mode permits multiple open emails and permits subscribers to run two Outlook sessions in split-screen view. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Outlook and Outlook on the web consulting and training services.

Microsoft 365 OneNote for Windows 10 is included in most Microsoft 365 bundles, installed by default in Windows 10, and offered for download as a free mobile application. The older OneNote 2016 version, which includes features not initially provided in OneNote for Windows 10 likes Record Video, is still available for free but is no longer being updated. OneNote for Windows 10 sports a new configurable look consistent for Windows 10, Mac, iOS, Android, and Web. Other functionality available exclusively on OneNote for Windows 10 include improved ink-to-text capability, an alert center that indicates changes in your open and recent notebooks, automatic transformation of freehand drawings into standardized shapes, and a digital ruler to draw straight lines and make measurements.

Microsoft 365 Access, available exclusively for Windows PCs, enables you to use Visual Basic for Applications and a rich set of templates to streamline business processes and create modern-looking forms and management reports. Microsoft 365 Access comes with the connector library to integrate data from a broad selection of popular business apps and data sources for creating aggregated reports from within the time-tested Access environment. The ability to store Access data in both SQL Server as well as Microsoft Azure SQL provides an enterprise-class database plus SQL syntax for Access applications deployed either on premises or in the Azure cloud. Microsoft Access 365 now includes an updated Linked Table Manager, lets you include new forms and management reports, and permits you to link or import data from Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Access consulting expertise.

Microsoft 365 Publisher, offered only for PCs, is a popular do-your-own desktop publishing system that takes advantage of the familiar Microsoft Office interface to provide an intuitive program for creating and sharing modern-looking documents like fliers and newsletters that require exact object placement. Since documents can be saved to the cloud, you can distribute a document as easily as providing a link. Publisher's wide use and simplicity make it possible to meet deadlines on time-critical jobs without needing rely on instant access to a desktop publishing professional for making last-minute changes.

Microsoft 365 Cloud Services
Microsoft 365 cloud services permit organizations to take advantage of Microsoft's extensive cloud resources to host business-critical servers such as Microsoft Exchange, Teams and Skype for Business. This provides enterprise-class levels of availability and protection while reducing the significant investment costs and management hassle associated with setting up and maintaining self-sufficient local computer facilities. For cases that require some systems to be kept on-premises for regulatory compliance, throughput, or other reasons, most Microsoft 365 server products can be implemented with hybrid network models that seamlessly combine on-premises and cloud-hosted infrastructure.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers email hosting and supports user mailbox capacity ranging from 50 GB to whatever you can afford. Important features include custom email domain addresses (name@​your�company​.com), shareable calendars and contact lists, a web version of Outlook, one-click archiving, and easy creation of collaboration groups. The web-accessible Exchange admin center allows you to control email settings for your company and provides full control over critical areas including permissions, security and compliance, mail flow, making mailboxes and imposing limits, team work, contact lists, Voice mail, monitoring and reporting, and backup/recovery. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and management expertise.

Microsoft 365 OneDrive is Microsoft's popular file synchronization and share platform. Microsoft 365 subscription plans usually come with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage, enabling you to save, retrieve, and share data across Windows, Apple Mac, or iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. By transparently synchronizing your files to your workstation, OneDrive lets you edit documents even when you are not connected to the Internet. OneDrive simplifies sharing and collaboration, tracking all file updates to avoid consistency issues. You can start a team project on any computer and switch smoothly to another computer at your convenience. For advanced collaboration, a variety of utilities allow you to annotate and highlight documents. Advanced discovery features enable you to locate files fast, and tracking tools offer useful information like 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 includes instant messaging, real-time presence, VoIP, and video calling, plus federation and directory search. Online Plan 2 includes pre-scheduled and on-demand conferencing with audio and video calling plus screen and application sharing on iOS and Google Android devices, PCs, and Apple Mac computers. For hybrid networks that integrate a local Skype for Business Server with Skype for Business Online cloud services, you can create a seamless solution using a Split Domain deployment. Learn about Progent's Microsoft 365 Skype for Business Online solution design and integration consulting.

Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online integrates information management with intranet publishing to allow businesses to distribute and share information and to promote collaboration. The SharePoint admin center now includes interactive usage reports, Message Center updates, and a Service Health dashboard designed to simplify management. Also, you can now connect current team sites to Microsoft 365 Groups, enhancing your existing SharePoint sites with shared conversations, schedules, and project planning. Features to support cloud coexistence now include hybrid taxonomy and hybrid auditing plus an enhanced development architecture for creating SharePoint solutions locally, in hybrid deployments, and in Microsoft 365. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online integration and development expertise.

Microsoft Teams is the successor of Skype for Business, offering a unified hub for meetings, contact lists, and content with persistent threaded chat, file sharing, and integrated IP voice and video conferencing. Microsoft has built the cloud infrastructure that hosts Teams so it can provide quicker conference join times than Skype and to enable integration with Microsoft Cognitive Services such as text-to-voice, language translation, speech recognition, and machine learning. Progent can assist you to try out Microsoft 365 Teams to assess the benefits of deploying this innovative collaboration platform. Learn about Progent's Microsoft Teams migration expertise.

Microsoft 365 Yammer is a social network platform designed to be used within an organization and limited to clients who have a verified corporate email address. Postings can include files, links, media, PowerPoint presentations, and SharePoint content. The Discovery connection makes it easy to find content relevant to your work or concerns as indicated by the groups you belong to, discussions you follow, and people you correspond with. You can find conversations, files, groups, participants, and other information related to a specific co-worker. Group Insights show you how activities like publishing, viewing, and liking are trending historically. Notifications alert you about relevant events such as new postings in your groups, comments in your discussions, and new followers.

Microsoft 365 Power BI is a stack of cloud services integrated with Microsoft 365 that enables businesses to build sharable dashboards and custom reports that offer up-to-date consolidated views into vital areas of your business. Microsoft 365 Power BI dashboards can consolidate data from multiple local and outside sources such as Microsoft Excel, on-premises SQL Server Analysis Service, Azure, or popular sources such as QuickBooks, Google Analytics and Salesforce. Dashboards and reports created by Power BI can be updated in real time via data streaming. You can store and share your dashboards in the cloud with Microsoft 365 OneDrive. Native Power BI mobile applications are offered for Windows devices plus Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones. Find out about Progent's Microsoft 365 Power BI Online integration consulting services.

How Progent's Consultants Can Assist Your Business with Microsoft 365 Solutions
For businesses looking for quick online guidance from a top-tier Microsoft 365 integration consultant, Progent can provide a comprehensive sele3ction of support services including solution planning, deployment, troubleshooting, software development, administration, and training. Progent's Microsoft-certified integration consultants, Cisco-certified network infrastructure engineers, macOS and OS X integration experts, iOS technology experts and Android consultants can help you to enhance your information system with Microsoft 365 applications and services.

Progent's ProSight family of Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) Services
Progent offers a family of budget-friendly, fixed-price services designed to allow small and medium-size businesses to utilize the same best-of-breed technology deployed by many of the industry's top enterprises. Progent's ProSight line of network management outsourcing services covers all critical facets of information technology such as email protection, behavioral-based threat defense, automated backup and disaster recovery, infrastructure monitoring and management, virtual server cloud hosting, and network resources documentation management. Learn more about Progent's remote management and monitoring services.

Get in Touch with Progent for Microsoft 365 Expertise
If you are trying to find a Microsoft 365 consultant, call Progent at 800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

Public Cloud Integration Services from Progent
The choices available for public cloud products and services are increasing rapidly, making it hard for IT managers to select the optimum cloud solution for their organization. Progent has in-depth experience helping companies of all sizes to plan, deploy, and maintain hybrid environments that integrate various cloud products and services from major public cloud providers. Progent's cloud integration consultants can assist you to understand the relative advantages and pitfalls of different public cloud offerings and can show you how to create a cloud-based or hybrid network that delivers maximum business value.

Public cloud products supported by Progent's consultants include:

Progent's Microsoft Azure planning and integration experts can help you with any stage of Microsoft Azure integration such as needs definition, readiness assessment, system architecture, pilot testing, implementation, automated administration, performance tuning, license controls, disaster recovery preparedness, security policy enforcement, and regulatory compliance validation. Progent can help you to set up and debug firewall appliances and VPN tunnels so that your clients can securely access to Azure resources, and Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist you set up critical Microsoft technologies to work in Azure including Windows Server, Exchange, SQL and Skype for Business. Progent can also assist you to create a hybrid ecosystem that seamlessly combines physical datacenters with Azure services.

Microsoft allows you to create transparent hybrid ecosystems that combine Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange deployments. This allows you to have specific Exchange mailboxes hosted on your on-premises datacenter or private cloud and other mailboxes hosted by Microsoft 365. Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange consulting team can assist your organization with any phase of planning, implementing and debugging your hybrid Microsoft 365/Exchange network. Progent's Exchange specialists can provide as-needed support to help you through stubborn technical problems and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to ensure your hybrid Microsoft 365/Exchange initiative is carried out on schedule and within budget. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for hybrid Microsoft 365 Exchange and on-premises Exchange environments, go to Exchange Online integration solutions with on-premises Exchange.

Progent's Amazon AWS planning and integration experts can provide affordable remote support to help businesses to access Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services such as Amazon EC2 for virtual machine hosting, Amazon S3 for expandable cloud storage, and Glacier for low-cost archival storage. Progent can help your IT team with every aspect of Amazon AWS migration and troubleshooting including needs analysis, preparedness assessment, architectural design and review, testing, deployment, centralized administration, performance optimization, software license management, backup/restore mechanisms, and security. Progent can provide advanced expertise with firewalls and VPN technology and can help you deploy cloud-based or hybrid environments that seamlessly incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services. Progent can provide as-needed consulting or Progent can deliver comprehensive project management outsourcing to help you move efficiently to the Amazon AWS cloud.

Amazon Marketplace Web Service is an integrated library of APIs that enables Amazon sellers to improve the efficiency of their operations by automating crucial sales activities including listings, orders, shipments, inbound and outbound fulfillment, and reports. By tapping into Amazon's extensive online selling environment and automating their sales, vendors can expand their market, lower their cost of sales, accelerate reaction time to customers, and increase their profits. Progent's Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) consultants can collaborate with your development team and provide application programming, workflow integration, project management support, and training to help you shorten development time and speed up your return on investment.

Progent's Google Cloud Platform (GCP) planning and integration experts offer affordable online and on-premises consulting to help companies of any size to migrate any part of their critical network resources to Google Cloud Platform services. This can save management hassle and equipment expense and enable the use of Google's cutting edge AI and machine learning tools. Progent can help you with every aspect of Google Cloud Platform integration including needs analysis, preparedness evaluation, architectural design and review, pilot testing, configuration, administration, performance optimization, licensing management, disaster recovery mechanisms, and security.