Cloud After Office 365 – 5 Solutions to Consider

Cloud After Office 365 – 5 Solutions to Consider

A lot of businesses start their cloud experience with something familiar but cloud-based: Office 365. In recent years, Microsoft has stepped up its game to make Office 365 more beneficial for companies, making it easier and more accessible than ever before.

Once you’ve installed Office 365 in your company, and started seeing the benefits of the cloud for yourself, perhaps you’re wondering “What else can we move to the cloud?”

It’s a good question. Some companies feel overwhelmed by the possibilities – the cloud suddenly can look like a giant elephant and nobody knows which bite to take first.


Here are some of our picks for clients who are venturing into the cloud 1 byte at a time:

Security tools. Once your email is in the cloud, its general state of security improves significantly. However, your employees are accessing those emails through multiple devices which creates new security issues. Luckily, there are a number of security apps that secure mobile end points (including laptops). Email security services and tools that live on your devices and scan websites offer increased protection to make sure links are valid no matter where the device goes.

Line of business app. Basic business tools, like CRMs and accounting software, as well as industry-specific applications are now available to run efficiently in the cloud. Software providers are rewriting the book to offer nimble, cloud-based solutions that feature benefits like increased data security and enhanced collaboration for your company. Plus, these are often subscription-based licenses so they stay up to date.

Infrastructure. Yes, we know infrastructure isn’t exciting, but it offers the biggest bang for the buck. Think about it. Do you know any businesses who don’t need more data each passing year? We don’t. Migrating components like your storage area network (SAN) or servers means you don’t have to purchase equipment anymore, giving you the ability to increase and decrease your data needs at will. It also means quicker recovery when a server goes down.

Cloud-sync data. The ability to sync data from different operations by way of the cloud means you can access data through multiple devices from nearly anywhere. Without cloud solutions, your data is parked locally. When you travel, when you’re at home, when you’re out in the field, you can’t access it. At Connecting Point, we believe in the power of cloud sync storage – so much that we use it ourselves!

Collaboration. There are a number of tools that can help enhance your ability to work simultaneously on projects with others. Whether it allows an attorney to collaborate with their legal team from the courtroom, or professionals to work on the same spreadsheet from their offices without having to wait for a meeting space to free up, collaboration tools can enhance productivity and efficiency with minimal effort.

Many businesses get their feet wet with Office 365. Of course, this serves as a logical first step into the world of cloud-based possibilities, but it undoubtedly won’t be your last. Whether you opt for collaboration to boost productivity, roll key infrastructure to a cloud-based model to save money, or beef up security, the world of cloud is now your oyster. Dive in.


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