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Microsoft Office 365 is now Microsoft 365 BusinessChange can be difficult in business, but it can also usher in a new era of productivity and profitability. Microsoft is shooting for better ways to improve productivity and elevate data integrity with its new Microsoft 365 product. Name change Microsoft has time and again shown that they are willing to make drastic changes to […]

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19 Jun, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020june19office_a, intune, microsoft, microsoft 365, o365, Office, Office 365, Productivity, w10, Windows, windows 10, windows defender category
Microsoft Office 365 is now Microsoft 365 Business

Change can be difficult in business, but it can also usher in a new era of productivity and profitability. Microsoft is shooting for better ways to improve productivity and elevate data integrity with its new Microsoft 365 product.

Name change

Microsoft has time and again shown that they are willing to make drastic changes to their products and services in the name of development. Their Windows 10 operating system (OS), for instance, is a far cry from its predecessor Windows 8. Microsoft made the jump from what they thought would be a revolutionary tile-based design in Windows 8 to a classic, ergonomically designed Windows 10.

The tech giant has once again made drastic changes, this time to their award-winning line of productivity apps Microsoft Office 365. O365, as it was lovingly referred to for nearly a decade, is now the sleeker, more powerful, Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Business is available to small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) on three different subscription plans: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.

Available plans

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes with many standard features, including web and mobile app access, full email and calendaring tools, secure file storage, collaboration tools, and support. Rest easy knowing that you have a powerful enterprise-grade software for a fraction of the cost such as:

  • Web and mobile app versions of Office apps
  • Real-time coauthoring
  • Email hosting with 50 GB capacity
  • 1 TB of OneDrive storage
  • Automatic syncs regardless of work platform choice (between OneDrive and SharePoint).
  • Teleconferencing and unified communications via Microsoft Teams for up to 250 users
  • Automatic threat defense via Exchange Online Protection
  • A complete array of cybersecurity tools and protocols, such as automated password policy tools

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you’ll get everything Business Basic offers plus:

  • Desktop versions of Office apps for up to five PCs or Macs per user
  • Easy and smart appointments management with Microsoft Bookings
  • Real-time mileage tracking and reporting with MileIQ

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the brand’s flagship plan, a great tool for businesses ready to take their operations to the next level. It comes with everything Business Standard offers plus:

  • Advanced security tools to protect from zero-day threats and ransomware, via Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection
  • Remote wiping tools for stolen or lost devices, via Selective Wipe from Intune
  • Restricted copying or saving options for unauthorized apps and locations
  • Complete control of company data, via Information Rights Management
  • Pre-breach threat resistance policy options, via Windows Defender Exploit Guard
  • Malware protection, via Windows Defender
  • Unlimited cloud archiving of emails, via Exchange Online Archiving
  • Setup wizards for Windows 10, iOS, and Android
  • Total security policy deployment — even for mobile apps — via Mobile Device Management from Intune

Microsoft 365 Business will change the way your staff powers your business. Contact us today to discuss how you can avail of a subscription.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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What’s new with Microsoft’s update channelsCompanies that use Microsoft 365 usually want the latest features of the productivity suite's apps. However, not all companies want to receive updates at the same cadence. Whether you prefer to receive new app features ASAP or get them only once a month, there’s a way to customize your preferences, thanks to Microsoft’s update channels. […]

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29 May, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020may29office_b, microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, microsoft update channels, Office, productivity suite category
What’s new with Microsoft’s update channels

Companies that use Microsoft 365 usually want the latest features of the productivity suite's apps. However, not all companies want to receive updates at the same cadence. Whether you prefer to receive new app features ASAP or get them only once a month, there’s a way to customize your preferences, thanks to Microsoft’s update channels.

New update channel: Microsoft Enterprise Channel

The new Microsoft Enterprise Channel is for organizations that prefer to get updates on a predictable schedule. With this update channel, users can receive new features and patches on the second Tuesday of every month, which Microsoft famously calls Patch Tuesdays.

This update channel is ideal for companies with IT departments that want to reduce the burden of updating systems at irregular intervals. This will allow them to have a fixed schedule of downloading the latest productivity features, system improvements, and essential security patches.

Recommended update channel: Current Channel

Current Channel is great for companies that want to receive feature updates as soon as they become available. New Office features are released at least two or three times a month, so those that choose Current Channel will get them immediately.

The same applies to non-security updates such as reliability and performance improvements, which are also released two to three times a month. As standard, security updates will be released on Patch Tuesdays, and are therefore released on a fixed schedule.

Those who are only about to install Microsoft 365 apps will be on Current Channel by default. That means they’ll get feature updates, security updates, quality updates, and bug fixes whenever they’re ready, and can expect to receive two to three updates every month.

Option for less frequent updates: Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel

This option is for organizations that require a longer period to receive new features. This especially applies to those that use devices that must undergo extensive testing before receiving new features, perhaps to comply with governmental and regulatory authorities or for other unique reasons.

Under this update channel, organizations receive feature updates twice annually: in January and July, on the second Tuesday of the month. Security updates are still sent once a month, on Patch Tuesdays, similar to Microsoft Enterprise Channel and Current Channel.

Updates to existing update channels

Another important change is the new names of the Microsoft 365 update channels. Organizations can choose from the following options: Current, Monthly, or Semi-Annual (formerly Insider, Monthly, and Semi-Annual). In addition, testing channels previously labeled Targeted have been renamed Preview.

It’s important to select the right update channel for your organization to keep system updates streamlined and IT workflows uninterrupted. Choosing an update channel also depends on the user preferences of your business — whether they’d rather use the latest versions of their apps or would be fine to wait — as well as your business’s rules on compliance.

To learn more about Microsoft’s update channels, specifically, how to know which one’s best for your company and how to optimize your productivity apps, call our IT and software experts today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Microsoft 365: New Office 365 features for the same priceOn April 21, Microsoft rebranded its Office 365 (O365) Home and Personal plans asMicrosoft 365 (M365) Personal and Family subscriptions. The company’s officials describe the new bundles as "the subscription for your life to help you make the most of your time, connect, and protect the ones you love, and to develop and grow." But […]

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11 May, 2020 / by Complete Technology Resources / in 2020may11office_b, excel, microsoft, microsoft 365, Office, Office 365, outlook, powerpoint, teams, word category
Microsoft 365: New Office 365 features for the same price

On April 21, Microsoft rebranded its Office 365 (O365) Home and Personal plans asMicrosoft 365 (M365) Personal and Family subscriptions. The company’s officials describe the new bundles as "the subscription for your life to help you make the most of your time, connect, and protect the ones you love, and to develop and grow." But Microsoft isn’t just changing its marketing, it’s also boosting its apps with new capabilities. Here’s what you can expect.

#1 Microsoft Editor

Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), this new editing feature helps you write better by providing advanced grammar and style refinements. It will alert you if you’re using a word too often or constructing overly complex or unclear sentences. It can also make language and style suggestions, rephrase full sentences, and check for plagiarism.

Microsoft Editor is now available in 20 languages in Word and as a browser extension in Outlook. Soon, you can also install it as a Microsoft Edge and Chrome plug-in so you can always submit great writing anywhere on the web.

#2 Presentation Coach and updated Designer

Create better presentations using the AI-driven Presentation Coach feature that helps you avoid filler words, grammar mistakes in your speech, and a monotone pitch that may put your audience to sleep.

What’s more, the enhanced PowerPoint Designer gives you access to over 8,000 images and 175 looping videos, 300 new fonts, and 2,800 new icons. It also has the capability to convert text into a timeline and suggest potential slide layouts whenever you add an image.

#3 Money in Excel

If you use Excel to manage your personal or family budget, then you’ll love the upcoming new feature called Money in Excel that lets you link your bank and credit card accounts and import your data into your spreadsheets. You can also track your transactions line by line, categorize your expenses, and create a monthly spending chart so you can analyze your habits.

#4 Integrated personal and work calendars

Outlook now allows you to look at just one interface for both your personal and work calendars. This prevents your coworkers from setting meetings with you during your blocked personal events. You can also import your child’s school calendars so you’ll be alerted of their conferences, plays, and other academic events.

#5 Teams for consumers

Microsoft Teams will soon have new consumer-centric features that let you connect and collaborate with your friends and family. So if you already use Teams for work, you will be able to connect it with your Teams personal account and easily switch between those two accounts, just like in Outlook.

#6 Family Safety app

Aside from adding new features to their existing apps, Microsoft will also roll out its new Family Safety app for iOS and Android later this year. Similar to Apple’s Screen Time, the app is made to keep your family safe in both the digital and physical worlds.

It lets you see what your children are doing on their Windows PCs, Xboxes, and Android and iPhone devices, and give you an analysis of their time spent on each device, so you can manage their screen time. You can use it to set limits for apps and content filters by age and even block specific websites and games on Xbox. The Family Safety app will also provide you with location sharing and driving reports.

Despite all these new features and upcoming new app, the M365 consumer bundles are still priced identically with its O365 counterparts: M365 Personal at $6.99/month or $69.99/year for one user, and M365 Family at $9.99/month or $99.99/year for up to six users.

To stay updated with the latest Microsoft news and see how these changes can help improve your business, get in touch with our IT experts today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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