As IT professionals, Office 365 brings a great range of benefits to both ourselves and our customers. However, when considering Office 365 to power your organization, you need to know the facts as there are a lot of myths surrounding this fantastic service which stops a lot of business migrating. Ready to learn which of the top ten Office 365 business cloud myths you may have thought were true— but aren’t? Read on.
1. Office 365 is just Office tools in the cloud, and I can only use it online.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. When you have Office 365, depending on which version you have, you get up to date Office 2016 software that you load onto your computer (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). It actually resides on your computer, not just in the cloud. For example, yes your email resides in the cloud, but you can use local software on your computer to communicate with the cloud.
2. If our data moves to the cloud, IT will no longer have control & IT jobs will be cut.
The cloud is just another way of saying your computer doesn’t sit inside your office or the server is not at your office anymore. IT still has complete control over that information and all the data, whether it’s sitting on your computer or its residing on a server in the Microsoft Data Center. Realistically it will not cut IT jobs because IT is now very important to you and your business and you need these employees to communicate with the cloud.
3. Keeping data on-premises is safer than in the cloud.
Imagine if you lose power, your building burns, floods, or a hurricane comes through and you don’t move your server. If any disaster strikes your office and you aren’t properly prepared, then you can lose access to your data. If your data is in the cloud, at least you know you can get to it. Now, is it password protected? Yes. How strong is you password? If you password is generic 1234, then it is not very secure compared to if you had a strong, secure password. If you have strong password that only you know, then your data is very safe and secure in the cloud, as safe as it would be sitting in your office.
4. I have to move everything to the cloud; it’s an all or nothing scenario.
Office 365 can integrate with your current setup and you can choose which services you want to move to the cloud, or even have in hybrid mode. You are in complete control. Most implementations start with a hybrid approach, moving a single application, like email, and growing from there.
5. Cloud migration is too much for my business to handle.
That’s why we’re here! We help your business to migrate information to the cloud so you don’t have to worry about doing that yourself. Being a Microsoft Cloud Champion company, we know how to help you migrate your data the right way so your information is safe and secure.
6. Corporate spies, cyber-theives, and governments will have access to my data if it is in the cloud.
If someone has access to your password, then they are going to have access to your data, whether it is on a server in your office or if it’s sitting in the cloud. It’s all about how you protect your information. If your information username and password are protected, then it is safe.
7. I have to learn all new tools to manage SharePoint Online.
SharePoint Online is one of the easiest things to use in Office 365. With SharePoint, all you’re doing is you’re moving a document into a common area that allows multiple people to go in and simultaneously edit said document.
8. Skype and Skype for Business are one in the same.
Although they carry the same name, Skype and Skype for business are very different. Microsoft often loves to have applications which have the same name, one for home and one for business, but they don’t do the same things. Skype for Business allows you to have multiple people simultaneously in conference calls while Skype allows for one-on-one activity.
9. Email isn’t any simpler in the cloud.
By moving your business email to the cloud, you can rest easy knowing that the experts who created the software are taking care of the tricky maintenance work, while your IT team keeps control of your company’s capabilities and of how your employees use features. Your IT staff can spend more time on the core operations that build business value rather than keeping up with persistent hardware maintenance.
10. Continuously updating Office 365 will break my critical business applications.
The features delivered in Office 365 are more beneficial than in-house equipment. If you also factor in the extra costs of maintaining, upgrading and managing equipment without big disruptions to staff, Office 365 comes out on top every time.
Tune in below to our segment of “Tech Gumbo” as our Director of Sales, Haggai Davis, has more to say on the matter.
“Tech Gumbo”, a radio show hosted and sponsored by Gulf South Technology Solutions on TALK107.3 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana features interviews with industry leaders, as well as current events and popular threats in technology.
