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Recently a prospective client asked me what was so great about Office 365. This particular client is a growing healthcare company who has their employees spread geographically.

In their current state (which is also a big headache for them), their employees are using multiple versions of Microsoft Office (from Office 2003 to Office 2010). The company is still technologically traditional. When I say “traditional”, I mean they are still storing documents on a central server and don’t have any version control mechanism. The only way to share documents is through e-mails.

In short, they are paying a heavy price for:

• Server space
• Lack of collaboration
• Inefficient document management
• Loss of records
• Delayed responses to patients
• Loss of reputation

They desperately wanted a quick fix to all the above challenges.

Their staff members are comfortable using Microsoft Office, so Office 365 is a great choice for them. I gave them a briefing about the things that Office 365 can do for them and why the choice would be a perfect solution. Out of this briefing came the top 10 list below to help educate others on why Office 365 could be a great choice for them as well.

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Microsoft Office 365 is the cloud suite of OneDrive for Business, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and Exchange Online. The Microsoft Office desktop suite integrates with cloud-based versions of Microsoft next-generation communication and collaboration services.

The healthcare industry faces unique challenges like compliance requirements, maintaining electronic medical records, disability services and much more. For this, they need a secure and reliable productivity tool that enables them to access information virtually, from anywhere.

Here are some benefits that Office 365 offers (that are not only specific to the Healthcare industry but all other industries):

1.      Improved productivity

It makes accessing patients’ information quite easy. The users can have easy access to e-mails and documents from their systems, tablets or even their smartphones.

2.      Ability to stay connected

Skype for Business helps you to instantly connect with your colleagues at the blink of an eye.

3.      Ability to secure your data

When it comes to Cloud and Office 365, security and privacy are always a high priority.

There are some stringent security measures that makes Office 365 more secure than any other platform. For example, the physical security of Office 365 servers is not disclosed, all data is encrypted and data mining for advertising purpose is not allowed.

Microsoft takes multiple layers of backup of information at datacenter level so that data backup and recovery is protected. There are in-region servers to host their customer data, so the chances of a brute force attack are low as Office 365 requires protection with “hard” passwords.

4.      Improved communication

Office 365 gives you the ability to work together as a team and create a site mailbox. It makes it much easier to track all related communication (for example: concerning patients’ cases) in a single location.

5.      Ability to work offline

You can sync patient data and work offline just like you do when you’re in an online mode.

6.      Have all business apps at one place

Microsoft offers many brilliant business applications. With Office 365, you can have all these apps available in the Windows Store. Users can add all these business apps in a single Office 365 home screen and access it through a single location.

7.      Leave your worry about servers and maintenance behind

Office 365 is available on the Cloud and can also be integrated with the organizations’ On-premises solution. Using the Cloud saves a lot of maintenance costs. The Office 365 Trust Center also ensures that your data is safe and secure.

8.      Always up-to-date

Irrespective of the deployment type, Office 365 subscribers always have access to the latest versions of Office products. There is no need to purchase licenses for Microsoft’s new products or maintain Software Assurance Agreement.

9.      Scalability as per your choice

Once an organization migrates to Office Suite in Office 365, they can scale up or scale down as per their changing business requirements (for example: company downsize) and have a predictable cost structure.

10. Storage through OneDrive

Office 365 offers OneDrive to businesses which provides 1TB per user of storage space. There are small businesses who choose to completely switch to the Cloud for their storage for better security and accessibility.

So, like our client, whether it be a healthcare provider or any other Industry, Office 365 is a Microsoft’s Enterprise solution for all kinds of business sizes and environments.

Speak to us today if you wish to know how an Office 365 deployment can help your organization.