Whether we were in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak or not, we should have access to modern workplace tools and technology. A modern workplace can help your business avoid costly security risks, improve the ROI of your technology and people, and, in situations like we face now with COVID-19, have the flexibility to work from any device, anywhere.
You’ve likely seen a slow down in your business during this time, however, this may be the perfect opportunity to make those critical infrastructure and technology improvements that you so desperately need but could never find the time for. Use this opportunity to modernize your business infrastructure and come back with tools that let your business operate from anywhere, on any device.
Legacy Technology Can Make Things Complex
This is how things look for a lot of small and medium businesses today.
Businesses IT infrastructure is becoming increasingly fragmented as they attempt to improve workforce productivity and try to work within budget constraints. The irony is that this fragmentation means most businesses are spending more money, but you aren’t necessarily making more profit.
When businesses add new services and solutions to fill the real and perceived gaps in their IT, they are holding onto legacy systems that are ‘good enough.’ These legacy systems take more time to manage, which also impacts your profit margins.
Meanwhile, businesses are using many different devices, and whether they know it or not, have a mobile workforce that needs additional security and protection.
Studies show 60% of small companies go out of business within 6 months after a cyber-attack!
Technology Has An Expiry Date
The technology you invested into in the past for your business has an expiry date – and it’s coming soon! Start planning for Windows 7 and Office End of Support.
What End of Support Means For You
- No new security updates
- No new features, updates, or bug fixes
- No online technical content updates
- No Microsoft product support to fix issues
- No custom support agreements
- Reduced/limited functionality
Windows 7 reached End of Support on January 2020 and Office 2020 and Office 2013 will be End of Support in October 2020.
Why Choose Cloud Services
We see SMB technology decision makers moving away from a strategy of squeezing every spark of life out of IT assets toward a more strategic approach to technology adoption.
3 Reasons SMBs consider the cloud
- Cost Savings
- Improved Security
- Easy access to documents and applications from multiple locations
When SMBs do upgrade to Microsoft 365, they typically do so because they want the benefits of file sharing, remote access, and data security. SMBs who upgrade to Microsoft 365 cite multiple benefits, including ~45 hours of increased mobile worker productivity per mobile worker, 17% reduction on time spent on decision making, increased collaboration, reduced down-time and use of third-party software.
Many SMBs are also concerned about their ability to protect their business from cyberattacks and keep their data safe—but lack basic protection against the most common threats. A recent Microsoft survey of SMBs and found that 71 percent feel vulnerable to a cyberattack, jumping to 87 percent for businesses that have already experienced a breach. The advanced security features in Microsoft 365 offer a comprehensive solution to protect SMBs from cyberthreats and safeguard sensitive information.
Microsoft 365 Business or Office 365
Which solution is right for you and your business?
Microsoft 365 Business is an integrated solution built especially for small and midsized businesses. It empowers your employees to communicate, collaborate and do amazing work, and protects your data without bogging you down with complex IT management or expensive on-premises equipment. It’s powered by the productivity apps of Office 365 and the best-in-class security features of Windows 10 to provide the technology you need to run and grow your business:
- The familiar and powerful productivity and communication tools of Office 365, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and more
- Centralized user, device and app management capabilities previously available only to large enterprises, but on an easy-to-use console for organizations with limited or no IT staff
- Best-in-class security and control
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access Office 365 data
- Mobile device management (MDM) for extra security on mobile devices
- Encryption of data at rest and in transit
- Continuous data backup
- Robust spam and virus filtering
Related Article: A Crash Course in Azure Active Directory and Unified Identity and Access Management (IAM)
As a subscription service, Microsoft 365 Business has cost-effective pricing, while ensuring that you and your employees are always working with the latest and most secure version of Windows 10 and Office 365. It is designed so you can save on capital expenses, scale as you grow, and get the IT expertise you need to run your business better.
Migrate to the Cloud with Confidence
The Office 365 consulting team at 360 Visibility will help your team throughout your journey to the cloud, deploying best practices and ensuring a successful transition.
Assess
- Understand your current environment
- Evaluate application compatibility
- Determine any missing pre-requirements
Prepare
- Prepare change management plan, with communication assets
- Prepare deployment plan for modern desktop, including cloud services
Migrate
- Replace and migrate Windows 7 devices to Windows 10
- Deploy cloud servers for application hosting
- Migrate user data
Onboard
- Start end-user adoption programs
- Continuous improvement
Use this current slow down in operations during COVID-19 to assess your infrastructure and make critical improvements to IT, Operations, and Finance and Accounting applications and tools.
Contact 360 Visibility today to begin your journey to the cloud.