8 Advantages of Using Office 365 for Business Email in the Cloud
If you’re only using email to send and receive messages and little else, you’re missing a whole world of connectivity out there. Cloud-enabled technologies have opened up collaboration like never before and the same is true for email that’s in the cloud.
Many companies use cloud solutions for other network connected services like accounting or customer service, but they’re still stuck in the past when it comes to their email, which can now do so much more if they just explore the capabilities.
One program that’s helped more companies than any other take advantage of all the cloud has to offer is Office 365. It’s the most used cloud solution on the planet according to user count. Their Exchange Online email offers businesses multiple time and cost saving features that can take their email to a whole other level.
86% of professionals say email is their preferred method of business communication.
Email is one of those technologies that although it’s been around for a while, it is still the most popular form of electronic communication. Each day, the average office worker receives about 90 emails and sends about 40 business-related emails.
With email being such a big part of the workday, finding ways to optimize it can have a significant impact on productivity and efficiency.
Do More with Your Email Using Office 365 Exchange Online
Office 365 Business Essentials and Business Premium both come with Exchange Online cloud-based email. Using email in the cloud allows you to do things like edit email messages with a colleague in real time and ensure all your company emails are secure and accounted for.
Some of the basics that come with Exchange Online include:
- 50GB mailbox storage for each user
- Calendar & Shared Calendars
- Contacts
- Your custom domain name
- Email accessible from desktops, tablets, phones, or browser
Cost Savings with Scalability
Moving your email to the cloud means you only pay for the number of users you have at any given time, rather than needing to purchase email software that might go unused if you downscale. With Office 365 and Exchange Online, you can pay per user per month and scale up or down whenever you like.
Time-Saving Collaboration
Using Exchange Online allows you to take advantage of benefits like the ability to have someone check your shared calendar and schedule themselves into your week, eliminating several back and forth emails.
Other collaborative tools that can improve productivity include:
- A shared inbox for groups
- Distribution lists
- Public folders for sharing within your organization
Anywhere Access
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of cloud-based email is that you can easily access it from anywhere on any device, PC or mobile. No needing to set up forwards for messages you want to read on a different device then forwarding your replies, so you’ll have them on your main computer.
Cloud-based email makes traveling and working from home much more fluid because your inbox is exactly how you left it when you login from a different location.
Integrates with Outlook
Exchange online integrates with Outlook, so your users will have the same familiar feel when accessing their email. The key difference will be that it is much more robust and will include the collaborative features that a stand-alone copy doesn’t have.
Improved Security
If you have important email messages from clients that are housed on different employee devices, what happens if one of those devices crashes or is stolen? With cloud-based business email, you have the ability to put security policies in place that include mobile devices and that allow you to remove confidential company information should a device get lost.
You’ll also have all your company emails stored in a cloud server that your administrator can access at any time, so there is less chance of important emails being deleted and gone forever.
Anti-Spam & Anti-Malware
If you’re paying extra for a program to protect your emails from spam or malware, you won’t need to any longer when upgrading to Exchange Online. It includes advanced capabilities like anti-spam filtering and anti-malware protection for user inboxes.
Easier Administration
Instead of having to go computer to computer to update and administer email accounts, they can all be handled from a central web-based admin center, saving time and effort.
Updates and patches are also deployed automatically, so users aren’t interrupted with prompts and they can go about their day, while also being protected.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Exchange has DLP capabilities that prevent sensitive content from being sent to unauthorized people through use of sensitivity labels and rules. Microsoft also has globally redundant servers and disaster recovery capabilities, so in the event of a downtime incident or other catastrophe, your emails are protected and recoverable.
Learn More About Office 365 & Exchange Online
Need help migrating your data to cloud-based email? Quantum PC Services can guide you through an upgrade to Exchange Online and also set up custom automations that will be real time-savers for your office.
Call us today to discuss your email options at 920-256-1214 or through our contact form.
