#WorkingFromHome Solutions with Microsoft Teams

a laptop with the microsoft logo on it

Staying home together can be a challenge when it comes to staying connected and apart. Many small to mid-sized businesses are feeling the anxiety of the #WorkFromHome life, just as many employees struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy and minimal disruption to their departmental teams. Business owners can use technology to ensure processes continue to run smoothly during COVID-19.

Microsoft Teams is the essential remote worker’s suite for empowering companies and keeping colleagues connected.

All-In-One Platform

One of the biggest fears many companies harbor is the loss of productivity during this difficult time. The idea of transitioning an entire company to working remotely on minimal notice is a daunting undertaking. With the looming uncertainty and adjustment to new operating procedures, profit loss seems inevitable. Busy companies can’t afford a day off, let alone an undefined furlough.

Now that we’ve covered the doom and gloom, it’s time to look at the vast opportunities this “new normal” presents. There’s no need for productivity to drop off due to transitioning to a remote office. Remote work has been on the rise with many of the top-growing companies over the past few years. The key to success lies in the right tools.

Microsoft Teams eliminates the learning curve by keeping new technology simple. The user-friendly, all-in-one platform centralizes software, CRM databases, spreadsheets, messaging, and more in a secured Cloud based location

The result? Reduced employee downtime.

According to the Forrester Study: The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams, “having resources available online in Teams reduces downtime by 14.6 percent.” This allows for streamlined compliance and security while keeping your business on the upward growth curve.

Collaboration Made Simple with Microsoft Teams

The benefits of a dynamic team are often erroneously linked to a shared, brick-and-mortar office. The reality is that it’s quite common for key executive members to operate on a long-distance basis, with flexible hours and remote work quickly becoming the best way to attract high-quality talent. 

Teams makes collaboration a snap with easy documentation, screen sharing, data exchange, and personable communications. In fact, a recent Forrester Study found that “information workers were able to save 4hrs/wk through improved collaboration and information sharing.” This leaves extra hours to catch up on backlogged projects.

The fast, real-time environment of Teams allows businesses to hold morning meetings, schedule conferences with core clients and investors, and check in anytime, anywhere. If your company is growing fast, there’s no reason to pump the brakes quite yet. Interviews are simple and timely via Teams, allowing multiple executive members to be a part of the process.

Best of all, Teams keeps your company together. The sense of camaraderie between our colleagues has never been more needed. Support your staff during this difficult time by fostering a culture of positivity and teamwork.

Budget Friendly for Reduced Overhead

Maintaining fiscal responsibility is more vital now than ever. There’s no need to invest in high-tech solutions to keep your company running from home. Microsoft offers a range of affordable Office 365 and Microsoft 365 options depending on your company’s needs. Best of all, Microsoft Teams is proud to feature small business solutions. If you aren’t looking to purchase a bundled option, the basic app for Teams is free to download and can host up to 300 members.

In addition, travel costs were greatly reduced, freeing up overhead expenses. The Forrester Study found that “an average of 150 overnight trips [were] replaced with online meetings by year 3 [of implementation].”

We know the current state of #WorkingFromHome has yielded a lot of uncertainty, but in the transition to remote work, innovative, new opportunities are being discovered every day. Your friends at Bluwater Technologies are here to support our business clients now more than ever with on-demand IT services for small businesses.

Contact our experts for more COVID-19 guidance and tips on transitioning your office to a robust remote workforce.

Office 365 vs Office 2019 – Which One is Best for Your Business?

the comparison between office 365 and office 365

When it comes to which product is superior, Microsoft’s traditional Office (2019) suite, or their relatively new Office 365 package, there is no definitive answer. Microsoft offers two options for its customers because it recognizes that a one-size-fits-all philosophy may not necessarily meet the needs of everyone in its very large audience.

In this post, we will outline some of the key features of each suite so each business can decide for itself, which package is better suited for its particular office environment.

Office 365 for Business

Office 365 is a cloud-based version of Microsoft’s suite of office products such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, plus additional business-related apps. Instead of paying a one-time license fee, buyers pay a monthly or annual subscription for use of the product. 

Some key advantages include:

  • Regular updates
  • Increased cloud-based collaboration
  • Use apps on multiple devices
  • Linking (rather than attaching) files to emails
  • Multiple subscription-level options

Microsoft Office 2019

This is Microsoft’s stand-alone version of their Office line of software applications. Buyers make a one-time purchase of the package, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. Microsoft does offer a business version of the product and the one-time fee is good until the end of life of the product (infinite access).

Advantages of the stand-alone package include:

  • Pay only once
  • 60 days of free support
  • Tried and true classic office applications

Generally speaking, Microsoft’s Office 2019 software is a good choice for very small businesses — typically less than 5 employees. As a stand-alone product, there is a fee attached to each copy of the software so if you have 3 machines using Office 2019, you’ll have 3 licenses. For slightly larger companies who use other cloud-based applications, Office 365 may be a better choice. It certainly offers more on-the-go flexibility by allowing the use of the app on multiple devices, as well as multiple subscription options.

If you would like to know more about how to select the right office package for your business, please contact us.

Improve Teamwork and File Collaboration with Microsoft Teams

a group of people standing next to each other

Team projects frequently require regular and sometimes even intensive communication between team members. It is often difficult, however, to find the time and the meeting space to bring everyone together. This is just one of the reasons why Microsoft developed their Microsoft Teams application. Their Teams application provides an easy mechanism for project members to improve file collaboration with each other; all from the convenience of their own desk or even while on the go.

Flexible Communication 

With the Microsoft Teams collaboration hub, members can easily connect with each other for group chats to review important project documents, or they can initiate a private conversation with another team member or an external user. Microsoft Teams offers flexible communication by offering team members the choice to communicate through voice, text, or video channels. Team members can sign in anywhere, anytime, using virtually every device on the market, since Microsoft Teams can be downloaded onto a variety of devices and operating systems, including:

  • Mac
  • Android
  • iPhone
  • Windows
  • Web

File Collaboration Made Easy

Group projects typically require the use of multiple applications, along with a multitude of different file types. Microsoft Teams makes it easy for team members to view, discuss, and edit a variety of different files from applications such as:

  • Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Visio 

If team members need to share project documents outside of their group project, Microsoft’s Teams application allows that as well. Of course, there may be times when team members need to bring in files for review from sources other than Microsoft’s line of applications. In that case, project members can make use of their underlying SharePoint library to view non-Office files within the Teams application. 

If you want to increase efficiency and productivity in your group projects, Microsoft can make it happen with their Teams app. Contact us for details.

Tip of the Day: The Power of Free Word Processors

a person typing on a laptop keyboard

Computers are wonderful machines that can be our best friend or our worst enemy. If one wishes to harness the power of that friendly side of computers, it helps a great deal to understand computer word processors

In the computer world, if one wants to type a statement, letter, or some other kind of document, a word processor program will typically be used. The most common word processor program in use today is Word which is sold by Microsoft. There are some other options that may be used for typing documents that are free. OpenOffice Writer and LibreOffice Writer are free options.

Issues

The only major obstacle to using these particular free options is that the file extension (.odt) generated by the program when a document is saved might not be readable by the word processor program installed on another computer.

For example, say a document is typed and saved with a .odt file extension. Then, sent to a computer with Microsoft Word installed. Depending on which version of Microsoft Word is being used, Word might not be able to read the document. However, the free options mentioned above both have a function to convert .odt files into .pdf format. Most computers have software installed that can read .pdf file types. If no software is installed to read the .pdf file type, simply download and install a free .pdf reader program.

As implied, there is no exact science to collaborating with word processor programs. However, the benefits are many including saving money. Furthermore, the information herein only skims the surface of what word processors can do. If a business has several employees requiring the use of a word processor but there is no budget for purchasing such software, the free options could serve nicely as an alternative.

Please contact us if consultation is needed with regards to word processor options.

The Impact Of Automation On Managed Services

a sign that says we make it easy next to a cup of coffee

As technology evolves, the demand for automation of IT services to promote efficiency in operations is increasing steadily.

Since Managed Service Providers (MSPs) interact with current trends in technology regularly, they need to adapt to such changes to remain afloat. Striking a balance between cost, accuracy, and time when resolving incidences is critical for all MSPs and that is only possible through the automation of IT infrastructure and services.

IT Process Automation (ITPA) yields a significant impact on managed services and here is what MSPs can expect.

Managed Control

The notion that automation will deny management the opportunity to remain in control is not true. On the contrary, automating IT processes promotes managed control to allow managers to make decisions at various levels of the workflow. This is possible by deploying human checkpoints that access real-time information on different procedures through IM, phone, SMS, or mail.

The implication, in this case, is that process owners assume the responsibility of taking necessary action for the process to continue. Hence, they remain in control of all operations.

Enhances Cloud Transition

Cloud services are improving the way businesses operate, and for that reason, most companies are considering transitioning from conventional setups. The challenge is that this process can prove complex for some enterprises and that can affect their service delivery. By embracing ITPA as an MSP, you can overcome some of these difficulties. As a result, you will experience a seamless cloud transition and enhanced relationships with your clients.

Automation Promotes Customization

The focus of most entrepreneurs is understanding how they can align automation of their operations with their business requirements. Therefore, MSPs should ensure that this is part of their considerations in their service provision. ITPA allows you to automate workflows for common IT functions and create custom applications for complex procedures in line with specific business operations.

As a result, that will encourage profitability and maximum use of available resources since the emphasis is on core processes of the company. If you need more information on the impact of automation on managed services, contact us today!