Why Use Office 365 Through A Microsoft Certified Partner?

Office 365 is used by more than one million companies across the world as well as over 140,000 in the United Kingdom. There are many reasons why a growing number of organisations have chosen to migrate to Office 365 with the help of a partner, rather than simply purchasing a subscription on their own. Here’s why:

Better ROI (Return On Investment)

Office 365 is an ambitious and sprawling piece of software, incorporating not only the classic Office tools (Word, PowerPoint etc) but also a wide range of collaboration and teamwork tools. Getting to grips with the full features of Office 365 can, therefore, entail a steep learning curve, and it is easy to overlook valuable features while focusing on tools that are less relevant to your business.

Working with an experienced Office 365 Partner gives you better value for money by shortening your training time, and enabling you to hone in on the most valuable aspects of the platform. Working with a partner can also make it easier to interface Office 365 with various third-party applications, saving you time, boosting efficiency, and further increasing your ROI.

The Right Solutions At The Right Times

Office 365 incorporates a large and flexible suite of tools because it is intended for use by businesses in widely divergent fields – from schools and bakeries, to oil exploration companies. A dedicated Office 365 partner can tailor the platform to your needs, by creating a plan that addresses your short- and long-term business objectives. This arises from the simple fact that the needs of every organisation are different.

Furthermore, your requirements are likely to change in the future, as your business grows, or as your industry changes. Partnering with an Office 365 provider gives your business a flexible edge by providing wide-ranging experience of different industries, at different periods of growth.

Managed Upgrades And Migration

Server platforms such as Microsoft Office involve regular updates and upgrades in order to stay relevant, as well as to fix glitches and sustain the best levels of cyber security. One of the advantages of Office 365 is that Microsoft manages these updates for you, without you having to download and patch servers manually. Nevertheless, automated changes in Office 365 will invariably affect any third-party applications you’ve integrated with the platform, as well as data stored locally. Working with an Office 365 partner ensures upgrades are smooth and targeted to your needs, and avoids any incompatibility issues that could arise.

Enhanced Support

Microsoft provides a base level of technical support for Office 365, which is onboarding and break-fix issues only. However, individual issues and day-to-day problems with your data and applications are your responsibility to resolve. Some businesses have the resources and experience to do this in-house. However, money and time can often be saved by working in synergy with a Microsoft-certified partner. With in-depth knowledge of the platform and – equally as important – the way in which your business uses and adapts these tools, a partner can bridge the gaps left in vendor support, and enhance the technical support provided by Microsoft to offset potential issues, and ensure optimum performance.

Find Out More

If you're interested in migrating to Office 365 from a locally installed version of Office, SharePoint, Exchange, Skype for Business, or file servers or have recently done so, contact our team at Fuse Collaboration. Our Microsoft support specialists can give you the tailored support you need to make the best use of the platform, and increase your long-term ROI.

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