Office 365’s adoption rate is increasing along with its popularity and usefulness as Microsoft adds additional business apps to the suite. Introducing new productivity and collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Groups, and Planner, simplifies and expedites business communication, increasing the appeal of switching from another platform to Office 365. Here are five expert tips to make the transition to Office 365 easier for your company, should you be thinking about it or have already begun.
What is Office 365, and why do you need a smooth transition to it?
Office 365, a versatile collection of software and services available through subscription-based plans, offers a range of benefits tailored to individual and organizational needs. This suite includes well-known applications like Word and Excel, and a significant advantage of using Office 365 is having access to the latest versions of these applications. The suite’s array of features and benefits simplifies various aspects of professional work.
A key aspect of transitioning to Office 365 is the ability to store all company files on the cloud, making them accessible from any location with an internet connection and on a variety of devices. This cloud-based accessibility is especially crucial for businesses where mobility and remote access are essential. Office 365 not only facilitates easy access to necessary apps and files when employees are away from the office but also ensures robust security through measures like two-factor authentication. This security feature is vital in preventing unauthorized access to data, even in the event of device compromise.
To ensure a seamless and efficient transition to Office 365, the role of EPC Group’s team of Office 365 migration experts is indispensable. Their expertise encompasses a range of services, including advising on Office 365 implementation, facilitating user adoption, and guiding the evolution of Office 365 within a specific company. By leveraging experts’ knowledge and experience, businesses can effectively integrate Office 365 into their operations, ensuring a secure, accessible, and up-to-date digital workspace that aligns with their unique needs and goals.
Here are the experts’ tips:
Tip 1: Assess the state of your IT infrastructure
Examine your present IT infrastructure to see if it can support an Office 365 migration before you start the migration process. Obtain an accurate and current snapshot of your network architecture, DNS, mail and other client apps, security and compliance solutions, directory design, servers, and connectivity. Microsoft offers a helpful automated readiness-checker tool.
Tip 2: Pay attention to planning
Make a plan and match your Office 365 migration for digital transformation of your business. The key to a successful move is preparation. A mental checklist to remember:
- Form a multidisciplinary team: To identify service needs and must-haves, the team should include members from the business, engineering, marketing, sales, and support departments.
- Select the features that you require: Choose the features you want to use, the sequence in which to build them, and base these needs on the value to the business.
- Select an appropriate migration type: These consist of an IMAP migration, a staged migration, a hybrid deployment, and a simple cutover migration. Think about implementing a test program without “high-touch” consumers.
- Establish a comprehensive plan: Describe your requirements and the data you wish to transfer in light of your company’s objectives.
Tip 3: Speak with an Expert
Talk to others who have successfully migrated to Office 365 to avoid making avoidable blunders during your own migration. Their advice can come in handy. Furthermore, think about hiring a cloud integrator or consultant for a more seamless transition. As they collaborate with your team, they truly lighten the strain.
When it comes to security, Office 365 is unmatched. It expertly guards your data against mishaps and losses that are under its control, such as malfunctions brought on by a natural disaster. It cannot, however, shield you from accidents that occur on your end. As a result, you remain open to data loss due to several risk factors, including viruses, hacking, synchronization failures, and inadvertent or intentional deletions. Data loss can happen on-premises systems as well, if not more so in the cloud. Since you are ultimately in charge of your data, you must safeguard it in the cloud. Your data’s availability and safety can be ensured with the use of a third-party backup and restore program like Spanning Backup for Office 365. Spanning offers complete, point-in-time, granular recovery functionality together with comprehensive, automated backup for Mail, Calendars, OneDrive, and SharePoint. In the case of an incident that can jeopardize business continuity, you’ll be able to bounce back fast and smoothly.
Tip 4: Get your Staff Ready
There is a change from established procedures and standards when moving to a new platform or the cloud. By teaching your staff how to use the new tools and allaying their fears, you can help them become ready for the shift. Several recommendations are as follows:
- Commence with an Internal Champion: Having a stakeholder champion for the change will help to garner support from all departments and implement training programs for the entire organization to facilitate the shift.
- Introducing Workers Gently: Train staff members using short tutorials, cheat sheets, FAQs, and referrals to the Help Center. Above all, make small, gradual modifications and promote their advantages. Employee support for the transition will be greatly increased as a result, and they will be better able to utilize the new features and capabilities. Establish a specific email address to which staff members can submit questions about migration.
- Promote investigation: Office 365 offers an abundance of fascinating features and opportunities. It goes much beyond email. Encourage staff members to use Microsoft Teams’ new capabilities and to discuss their advantages.
Hundreds of companies have benefited from the successful migration projects led by Microsoft 365 migration professionals. They will provide a solution that is tailored to lessen the impact on your company using tried-and-true methods and a wealth of experience.