5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 is helping Canadian businesses thrive and grow.

If your own or manage a small business in the Toronto area and have been thinking about switching to Microsoft Office 365 for your digital needs, now is the time.

Earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled its plans to build two new data centres (Toronto and Quebec City) in 2016. Microsoft’s World Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner, commented: “Soon, the Microsoft Cloud will be truly Canadian. This substantial investment in a Canadian cloud demonstrates how committed we are to bringing even more opportunity to Canadian business and government organizations, helping them fully realize the cost savings and flexibility of the cloud.”

Tech website 2 To Lead explained what these new data centres mean for Canadian customers and businesses: “This announcement should be a trigger for highlighting and assessing your own progress in adopting and using Microsoft Cloud technology… Unfortunately, we have found that many Microsoft Cloud IT investments are under utilized and organizations don’t do a good job of maximizing the return that Office 365 or Azure can provide.”

As with any tech investment, it’s vital to use this technology to the fullest. At TUCU, our IT experts help Toronto businesses configure and optimize Office 365, and today we cover five was you can make the most of Office 365.

1. Collaborate in Groups.

In a small business setting, the ability to work cooperatively on important projects is paramount. Office 365’s Groups feature makes this process more efficient and effective. According to Microsoft, this tool brings together the collaboration capabilities of “distribution in Outlook, buddy lists in Lync, groups in Yammer” and more to make note-taking, emailing, document creation, and scheduling easier.

2. “Sway” colleagues and clients with your presentations.

If you’ve been looking for a sleeker, simpler way to put together presentations, Sway could be your solution. This app is Microsoft’s answer to the ever-popular cloud presentation software, Prezi. Far more dynamic than a run-of-the-mill PowerPoint, Sway allows you to integrate content from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Bing, or your own cloud-based files with the click of a button. Sway also makes the design side of presentations easier by offering a variety of themes.

3. Take advantage of Skype.

Skype and Office 365 is a match made in heaven when it comes to collaborating with your colleagues. Every plan comes with Skype features, which include instant messaging, voice calls, video calls, and more. If you’ve purchased Office 365, make sure to claim your Skype minutes by signing in or creating an account. This feature is especially valuable if your company regularly does business across borders, since you can use Skype to make calls across the globe.

4. Take care of “Clutter.”

If you own, run, or work at a small business, you likely deal with a barrage of emails on a daily basis. Sorting out important client and vendor messages from spam can feel like panning for gold and waste your valuable time. Business Insider notes that Office 365’s new “Clutter” tool could solve this problem: “Clutter takes any and all rules you have set up for your inbox and uses them. You then train it by marking messages as clutter so it will automatically move less important messages into the ‘Clutter’ folder for you to read or delete later.”

5. Use Office 365 To The Fullest

You can make the most of Office 365 by enlisting expert advice. A local IT consultant can aid you in setting up the right accounts, mailbox types, file storage and permissions for your team.  One of the great features of Office 365 is having a local Microsoft Certified partner to help you get setup and to support you for years to come!

Office 365 Consultants in Toronto: TUCU is an IT Support Company in Toronto and we can help you with your Office 365 migration - start to finish.  In addition, we’ll act as your Microsoft Certified local partner, willing and able to tackle any support issues that arise.  We've been Microsoft Partners since 2003.  Schedule your free consultation so we can discuss your Office 365 project.