Office 365, the cloud-based version of Office, is one of the most popular software suites used by small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) today. With an ever-increasing number of companies migrating to this solution, it’s not surprising that many others are considering making the move.

Even if the subscription model is making more companies look like slow money drains, subscribing to Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365 is well worth the investment.

Office apps and the files you create with them are accessible wherever there’s an internet connection, but that is actually the bare minimum that O365 offers.

Reports about a new Windows operating system (OS) called “Windows Lite” is currently making the rounds online. According to insiders, this OS is a compact version of Windows that’s built as an alternative to Chrome OS. But what can people expect from this new OS and what does this mean for businesses?

What is Windows Lite?
Windows Lite is a more flexible, trimmed-down OS designed for casual, lightweight computing.

Yammer, Outlook Groups, and Microsoft Teams have plenty in common. They’re all Office 365 tools designed for sharing files and communicating with colleagues. So what differentiates each from the other and when should you use them? Let’s take a quick look.

If you’re like most people, your chat app is limited to asking basic questions or maybe touching base with a colleague. You switch tabs to do one thing and toggle back to do another. It would be great if completing a task were just a matter of keyboard shortcuts and menu items in a single window.

No matter how valuable your cloud subscriptions are, each new set of login credentials users are forced to create and memorize adds another level of inefficiency. With Single Sign-On (SSO), you can create one user profile that logs you into all your online accounts.

There are so many variables to consider when choosing a software solution, especially now that cloud-based options run on mobile devices. If you’re choosing between Office 365 and Google Apps for productivity software, understanding what they’re capable of on an Android phone or tablet could make the choice much easier.

IDG Enterprise says that businesses worldwide spent $3.5 billion on video conferencing apps in 2016. That’s a lot but also money well spent, especially if it helps with your employees’ productivity and collaboration. Some of these video conferencing apps are Hangouts Meet and Skype for Business.

Measuring productivity is an important process in an employee’s performance evaluation. Previously, Microsoft’s Office 365 had MyAnalytics, a tool for employees to monitor their own performance. But Microsoft improved on it with Workplace Analytics, which now allows managers to also view and evaluate their staff’s productivity.

Office 365 just keeps getting better and better. Check out how these new and upcoming enhancements can improve productivity.
Office
Write and draw with digital ink
Typing is easy on desktops and laptops, but when you’re on touch-enabled devices, keyboards are cumbersome to use, whether they are extra hardware or as space invaders on your screen.