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7 Benefits of Office 365 for Business

Group of employees in an office using computers with Office 365 to improve office communication and project collaboration

Providing your employees tools to have centralized and straightforward communication.

Business efficiency is the most critical aspect that helps it to stand out in the competition. Businesses require efficient and reliable email systems and tools to sustain vital communication processes such as in-house communication, supplier contacts, client contacts, and sending and receiving invoices.

Such essential aspects of communication are inevitable, and without them, business cannot operate smoothly.

Businesses are always looking for ways to stay more agile and get better productivity tools that enable employees to work easily. The tools should also allow the organization to integrate remote and in-house work for fast transactions to exist.

All these are part of Office 365 from Microsoft. The productivity suite has numerous tools, such as Word, Excel, Exchange, Team, SharePoint, and many more. It sits on the cloud, allowing remote accessibility of data using any device that connects to the company’s network. These tools are a complement to each other, and users can seamlessly integrate them for effective work. Here are the significant benefits of Office 365.

Save Heavily on Costs with Predictable spending

Office 365 helps you run a cost-effective platform with its pay-as-you-go pricing. You pay per user monthly as a subscription to avoid purchasing a product every year. The cost of the license you buy depends on the functionalities that will suit your business processes. Every enterprise has unique needs, and the applications and products you choose dictate the cost of each license.

Paying per user helps you to easily predict the annual spend, allowing you to set an accurate budget. All upgrades that occur after purchase are a part of the license so that you don’t incur any unexpected or additional costs. It will save you substantial up-front fees.

Improved Files Accessibility

You store your files and all business documents on the cloud using Office 365. Therefore, users can access the files from anywhere as long as they are online. Most organizations are currently leveraging remote work, and that work will be a handy addition to the business for the fast sharing of files that you require to boost business processes.

Trusted High-End Secure Cloud Storage

Office 365 offers robust security measures as its creator; Microsoft is among the trusted names in the tech industry. It has a secure cloud environment that you can trust to keep all your data safe. It uses two-factor authentication to prevent access to files from unauthorized people even when they try to use your devices.

The security also ensures your data is safe from all security threats with effective threat detection and anti-malware. It identifies and stops any threat, allowing you to deal with them before causing any harm. You are free to use the solutions without worrying about security.

Improved Communication through Collaboration

Businesses always avoid any miscommunications that can slow down their operations or ultimately hamper their processes. Office 365 provides the tools to enable employees to have centralized and straightforward communication. You can hold conference calls and meetings with staff or external agencies worldwide. The team offers an instant messaging function with comments on files uploaded simultaneously.

The improved collaboration between users in business guarantees everyone the correct information to avoid misunderstanding. The overall productivity in the company is at its maximum with such enhanced communications. It also allows you to reach out to various departments simultaneously to address an urgent issue.

Migrate to Office 365 and start relishing the tools to boost your business processes with easy collaborations for your employees. At SystemNet, we strive to offer the best IT services to small and medium businesses and would love to be your to-go source for IT support. Contact us Today to learn more about how we can help your company.

The Importance of Updating and Maintaining Your Website

blue responsive desktop with devices showing responsive portfolio website 3d rendering

Your website helps your company put its best face forward.

Creating a website for your business is one of the easiest and most cost-effective steps that you can take to drive new customers to your business. In fact, small businesses that do not have a website are at a major disadvantage, as the vast majority of customers now use the internet to search for products and services before making a decision. However, it is not enough to merely create a website and hope that this drives customers to your business. It is important that you maintain, update, and periodically overhaul your website in order to ensure that it is a relevant and engaging content source for customers. While maintaining your business’s website may not be your number one priority as a business owner, here is a look at just a few of the reasons why it is critical that you continually update your website’s content.

First Impressions Are Crucial

One of the most important reasons to maintain your website is to give customers a good first impression. The fact is that many customers are now inundated when choosing businesses to work with, and they will look through several businesses’ websites before making a decision. If they click on your website and it clearly looks outdated, has poor content, or it is not user-friendly, they will likely move over to a competitor’s website that is easier to use and visually appealing. In fact, many people will only look at a website for a few seconds before deciding whether or not to explore it further, which means that you do not have much time to make a good first impression. Keeping your website looking polished and updated will help to grab viewers’ attention, helping to improve conversion rates.

Keep Customers Engaged

Once you have a potential customer reading your website, you will need to keep them engaged with up-to-date information. The fact is that you need to provide a reason for customers to keep exploring your website and for returning customers to want to visit your website again. Continually updating your website and blog with company news, updated services, and helpful information that is of value, will keep customers engaged. The longer that you can keep people interested in your website, the more likely you will be able to turn them into returning customers.

Improve Your Search Ranking

Of course, customers won’t have a chance to peruse your website if they can’t find it. This makes it critical that you are doing everything in your power to improve and maintain your website’s search engine ranking, which includes continually updating and altering your website for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The fact is that Google is constantly changing and updating their SEO rules and search algorithms. If you are not staying on top of the latest SEO guidelines, and you are not updating your website accordingly, your website could drop significantly in search rankings, making it hard for people to find your website. In order for your website to be effective, you need to continually update it with fresh content and the latest keywords, and you need to continue updating your SEO settings.

Ensure Your Website is Secure 

Staying on top of website maintenance is also critical in order to ensure that your website software is up-to-date. If you are using a content management system, updating your website with the latest security patches and bug fixes is critical in order to help keep your website secure. Without the proper updates, hackers will try to take advantage of your website, which could put your company, and your customers, at risk. Additionally, if Google detects that your website has been infected by malware, your site may be delisted until you get it fixed. Continually updating your website will ensure that it stays secure and it reduces the chances that your website will be compromised.

While you may not see website maintenance has a priority, continually updating your website is critical in order to ensure that your website is an effective and secure digital marketing tool. Contact us to learn more about how you can protect your business, and your website, from hackers.

Microsoft Product Releases: What’s Going On With Windows 10?

Microsoft Product Releases

If you’re on our Managed Service Platform your already covered on how and when this rolls out in your environment

Windows 10 was released over three years ago, and the latest reports show that it’s now used on approximately 45.5 percent of all PCs that run Windows. This makes it the operating system with the most widespread usage around the world.

Since its release, it has also regularly undergone updates that have introduced new features and fixed various bugs. What’s the status of the latest update, and what can we expect in the near future?

Version 1809 Getting Rolled Out

Version 1809, the latest of the Windows 10 updates, was initially released in October of last year. Unfortunately, some users experienced problems with it, including file deletion and incompatibility with various applications.

Over the last couple of months, Microsoft has tackled these problems, and in the middle of January it began to roll out the Version 1809 update automatically. However, you may not have yet received the automatic update on your devices. The roll-out is phased, and the first devices to receive this latest version of Windows 10 are the ones that Microsoft has deemed most likely to run it without major issues.

If you don’t want to wait for the automatic update, you could try installing Version 1809 on your own. However, this may not be advisable, because it may not be a good fit with your device at this point; there’s a possibility you’ll experience frustrating performance issues. With a phased roll-out, Microsoft can carefully monitor the effects of the update and keep fixing it as needed. By the time it gets to you, you’ll receive the benefits of the improvements.

Exciting New Features for Windows 10

Along with monitoring the automatic updates of Version 1809, consider the upcoming features of Windows 10 explored in previews.

What are some of the highlights?

Intelligent Active Hours. Speaking of automatic updates, it can be terribly frustrating – and sometimes quite costly – when your computer starts an update when you’re in the middle of work. Windows 10 already lets you set Active Hours, telling your computer when not to initiate an update. Let’s say you’ve made your hours 9 am to 7 pm. What happens on days when you need to work later (or earlier) than usual? It’s unlikely you’ll remember to manually change your Active Hour settings. That’s when Intelligent Active Hours come into effect. Windows, on its own, will sense whether you’re still using your device outside of the Active Hours you personally set. This smart feature makes it less likely that an untimely update and restart will interrupt your work.

Windows Sandbox. This feature allows you to open an untested application on your computer without fear that it will destroy your device through malware or by other means. As you figure out what the application does, it will remain within the sandbox until you choose to dispose of it.

Windows Defender Antivirus Tamper Protection. Given the ever-present threat of viruses and malware, it’s critical to not only have Windows Defender Antivirus but to also limit who’s controlling its settings on your devices. Tamper Protection is a new feature that restricts the changes you can make to Windows Defender outside of the Windows Security app.

Cortana and Search Split. Cortana, the voice-activated digital assistant unique to Windows, has so far been integrated with Search in Windows 10, but Microsoft now plans to have them separated in the taskbar. What are the advantages to a separation? As discussed in an article at WindowsCentral.com, the rationale is that Microsoft can continue to develop the capabilities of both without having them interfere with each other.

There’s little wonder that Windows 10 is a popular operating system. Microsoft keeps coming out with improvements and is quick to tackle the bugs that crop up along the way. If you have any questions or concerns about Windows 10 installations, updates, and features, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll ensure that Windows 10 runs smoothly on your devices and that you make the most of what it can offer.

Microsoft Product Releases: Skype For Business Is Now Microsoft Teams