Microsoft Cloud Technologies: Ins and Outs

Microsoft 365 is a powerful toolkit for any business but like any sophisticated technology, an experienced and knowledgeable hand can leverage the resources it offers to get far more performance and utility out of it.
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Microsoft Cloud Technologies: Ins and Outs

Covid-19 tested the foundations of every business, just as it has every aspect of life. Throughout the course of the pandemic, however, organizations have repeatedly overcome challenge after challenge by leveraging innovation to reinvent the way that they do business. The result is that the world is emerging from the pandemic with a much more interwoven relationship between the traditional office and the technological tools that bring it into the modern world. For many, remote work was not only a fact of life during the height of quarantine, but will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Thanks to cloud technologies and collaborative tools, many organizations found remote offices appealing in many ways, and 26% of office workers here in New Jersey say that they think it’s unlikely that they’ll be returning to the office at all. Cloud technology has been critical to the evolution of new ways of doing business and the resource that many organizations have utilized to transform their modern office team is the Microsoft Cloud Technologies platform. This powerful toolkit offers the modern office a wide array of resources that can securely streamline nearly all the processes of a modern office, even while collaborating remotely.

The Microsoft Modern Workplace

Technology has always driven business, and with new means of collaboration and communication woven seamlessly into your business infrastructure, what defines your workplace can evolve. As many organizations found during the pandemic, the classic structure of having everybody in one place for productive teamwork doesn’t always work, and more flexible alternatives were needed. Tools like Microsoft 365 enabled businesses to rethink the modern workplace, and craft collaborative environments for their team that didn’t rely on being in the same physical space. While most people are familiar with the classic tools that Office brings to the table in their everyday work life, Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem offers so many more tools for businesses to leverage for increased productivity. Just a few of the tools included in the latest update of Microsoft 365 that can help power your Microsoft Modern Workplace include:
  • Microsoft Teams: Your collaborative headquarters for the modern office. Document sharing, collaboration, and communication all in one.
  • Microsoft Power Automate (MPA): Powerful tools to automate redundant tasks to save time and reduce potential mistakes.
  • Microsoft Intune: Full end point management solution that can enable greater tools for admins to troubleshoot and moderate network devices.
  • Azure Active Directory: Comprehensive SSO and multi-factor authentication cloud-based system. Protects users and enables convenient and thorough access control.
  • OneDrive: The raw cloud storage that protects your data, records, and assets in secure storage with robust backup and monitoring solutions.

Be in the Office, Wherever You are

As the world looks forward to what the new normal is after the pandemic, it’s likely that offices will never return to how they operated before. Many workers enjoy the flexibility of working remotely, and many businesses have found a wide array of unexpected advantages to remote work, such as:
  • Reduced overhead from office space and utilities
  • Increased worker morale and productivity
  • A more engaged workforce
  • The ability to recruit talent from beyond the commute to the office
There are many offices that have already opened their doors back up, and many will follow. Even among those, however, many employees still remain working remotely. Many organizations have decided that a hybrid office gives them the best of both worlds, and Microsoft 365 gives your remote personnel the ability to collaborate seamlessly with those in the office.

The Benefits of Business in the Cloud

Aside from the host of other tools offered to enhance collaborative work through Microsoft Office 365, simply operating within the cloud is a huge advantage to any company. While many businesses have utilized cloud solutions in the past, underlying security concerns have persisted compared to the relative safety of reliable on-prem servers. Now that Microsoft has enhanced the encryption measures throughout their entire infrastructure, your information is more secure than ever. Functioning primarily within the cloud itself brings a huge amount of logistical benefits, as consistent and reliable file storage and access control are much easier. Organizationally, the possibility of automatic backup and archiving can eliminate the need for wasteful paper records, and teams that commonly need to audit old records such as HR, legal, or accounting can have their work processes streamlined much easier. A cloud-based office also prevents the risk of a natural disaster or outage affecting your on-prem servers. With a modern office in the cloud, your office can be anywhere it needs to be.

The Downsides to the Microsoft Cloud Ecosystem

As with any technology, there are some issues that users commonly encounter with Microsoft 365. The first begins with the fact that Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based software suite, rather than a one-time purchase. While many may find it perfectly acceptable to pay a small fee every month instead of an expensive one-time investment, this may be an issue for some. For smaller businesses without a gigantic tech department, IT personnel can commonly feel overwhelmed if they aren’t well acquainted with the Microsoft ecosystem.  Not only is there a learning curve for your team to operate more advanced tools, but there will also be some effort required for your IT staff to learn how to configure and optimize the resources Microsoft 365 offers to get the most out of the software suite. This can be compounded by the fact that the many optimized solutions working seamlessly together that make up Microsoft 365 update pretty often to always keep the latest network security, and ensure any bugs that are found can be immediately fixed. Though many small IT teams can get overwhelmed with this if they aren’t experienced with the software, Microsoft 365 itself opens up new ways for you to find solutions. With a modern cloud workplace, you could bring in expert help in implementation and maintenance from a team of dedicated and experienced Microsoft Cloud Services technicians, who can also leverage the tools of your cloud to respond to your needs at a moment’s notice and keep you secure.

The Microsoft Cloud Ecosystem Empowers Your Business

Microsoft 365 gives you vital tools to grow your business, whatever form it takes. Whether your whole team is in the office or spread across the country Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem can give your team tools to collaborate in ways that they never have before. All the familiar tools that your business uses every day and powerful communication and collaboration tools alone are worth the investment, but with Microsoft 365 you can potentially get so much more. Microsoft 365 is a powerful toolkit for any business but like any sophisticated technology, an experienced and knowledgeable hand can leverage the resources it offers to get far more performance and utility out of it. Here at Baroan Technologies, our team is made up of New Jersey’s foremost experts on Microsoft 365 services for business. We can help your business excel to new levels by serving all your cloud needs and implementing powerful tools like automation to empower your productivity or respond to urgent needs like scaling issues. Technology propels business, and Microsoft 365 is a toolkit that any business can benefit from. If you’re ready to see how a Microsoft Modern Workplace could change the way you do business, contact us today for your free consultation.

Information Technology Aligned With Your Business Goals?
Baroan is a complete IT services & IT support company working with organizations in Elmwood Park and across the United States of America.

Written by Guy Baroan 
By: Guy Baroan 
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