Office
365 has become one of the largest bets of Microsoft. But it is
essential for the end-user to ensure that whatever is being done proves
beneficial for the business, brings returns and adds value. Hence there
is a common dilemma as to whether one should migrate to SharePoint on
Office 365. Before finding an answer to that question, let us understand
some basics.
An Overview
As
companies increasingly feel the need for information technology, it can
be said that every company needs to fulfill some core needs, namely,
Instant Access to People, Email as well as Collaboration on Files.
- Email: Undoubtedly, sending and receiving of mails is a requisite for all organizations. But it is not possible for everyone to afford the effort, time and expertise that go into maintenance of an infrastructure like this. Office 365 provides Exchange as a service, facilitating the execution of a number of activities without the need to worry about the infrastructure.
- Instance Access to People: So far as the world of the end users in concerned, instant messaging is quite common. However, when it comes to the workplace, there is hardly any means of communicating, which has become a challenge given the present need to operate from outside the workplace. With proper access to people, the requirement for internal mails is reduced. Lync as a service is offered, which renders instant messaging along with real-time presence. Even voice calls are possible and you can also create pre-planned online meetings with people internal or external to your organization.
- Collaboration on Files: The File Server or Shared Drive no longer lives up to the expectations of modern technology advanced users. A company server comprising a physical folder structure has documents stored within one folder or another, a phenomenon that hinders the ability to find or classify. Currently the workforce expects document access and has fundamental collaboration needs such as content approval. SharePoint as a service is offered by Office 365, ushering in the robust champion platform within the package. Since long, SharePoint has been utilized as a platform for building Extranets, Team Collaboration Sites, Intranets as well as Websites. It fulfills a number of fundamental collaboration requirements and also makes room for creation of other web-based solutions.
Why should you consider migration?
This is an obvious question. So, let us look into some of the benefits to be derived by migrating to SharePoint on Office 365.
- Cost: Migrating will definitely do away with a large portion of the maintenance cost. All servers, support systems, configurations along with anything else required to keep the maintenance activity in-house are eliminated and just offered as a component of this particular solution of Microsoft. There is in fact no need to buy servers or licenses.
- Updates: Office 365 is a great option if you want your workforce to be up to date with all latest versions, thereby benefiting from the latest integration and features. As a subscription model, automatic as well as free upgrades to both the products and services available are obtained, based on your plan.
- Hassle-free: It is indeed great for businesses if they do not have to worry about deployment, servers or other things that come with possessing in-house servers or your own IT department. Getting the service of instant communication, live meetings, emails along with a collaboration platform is a great thing.
We provide sharepoint webparts development services as well. If you would like to speak to a certified SharePoint programmer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.
