Low-Down on Office 365

/in , , , , /by

Last week, Microsoft rolled out its promised “Unverified Sender” enhancement to Office 365 to help users “identify suspicious messages” (i.e. spam or phishing emails) that reach the Outlook inbox. 1 This comes after a bulletin in which Microsoft urged Office 365 administrators and users to not turn off its built-in spam filters to “minimize the potential of a data breach or a compromised account.” 2

Many users are mistaken that there are different kinds of protections to their data in the cloud. But the risks of data loss or compromised data are no less of a problem in the cloud than in a modern server, desktop or phone.

Read more

Microsoft Office 365 Free To Qualifying Nonprofits

/in , /by

Microsoft now offers the entry-level, E1 plan of its Cloud-based, Office 365 service free to qualifying nonprofits. 

The Office 365 E1 plan includes Exchange Online (email, contacts, calendar, tasks), SharePoint Online (collaboration) and Lync Online (text and video conferencing).  To see our overview of Microsoft’s Office 365, visit Bryley Office 365 Presentation 4-24-2013.pdf.

The process to determine if your organization qualifies for this free service:

  • Sign-up for a free, 25-user trial of the Microsoft Office 365 E3 plan*
  • Fill-out the account information (name, organization, address)
  • Create a user ID (and agree to the Terms and Conditions)

Once the application is completed and the free-trial accepted, Microsoft will notify your organization if it qualifies as a non-profit.

*Note:  The E3 plan includes all of the features of the E1 plan plus the latest version of Microsoft Office desktop suite and other items.  It is not free, but is deeply discounted to qualifying non-profits.  Upon qualification, you may convert some or all of your users to the free, E1 plan.

Here is the site for Office 365 Enterprise E3 Nonprofits Trial.

Microsoft Office 365 versus Microsoft Office 2013

/in , /by

Microsoft has been promoting its Cloud-based Office 365, which was introduced in mid-2012.  It recently released Office 2013; a familiar collection of Cloud-enabled, desktop-computer-based applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.

Microsoft Office 2013

Microsoft Office was first introduced in 1985 on the Macintosh; it moved to the PC in 1990 as Office 1.0, which combined Word 1.1, Excel 2.0, and PowerPoint 2.0 in a “suite” that launched Microsoft’s subsequent success.  (At the time, Lotus 123 was the dominant spreadsheet and WordPerfect the dominant word-processor; both companies are no longer independent and are mere shells of their former selves.)

Office 2013 is the latest version of the traditional Microsoft Office suite.  It comes in several, perpetual-license formats:

  • OEM – Least-expensive, non-transferrable and sold only with a new computer
  • Retail – Boxed product that can be transferred from one PC to another
  • Open License – License-only version that can be transferred

The primary applications of Office 2013 that are included in all versions:

  • Word – Create documents
  • Excel – Build and analyze spreadsheet data
  • PowerPoint – Design and deliver presentations
  • Outlook – Manage emails, schedules, contacts

Advanced-level versions of Office 2013 also have:

  • OneNote – Take notes in your digital notebook
  • Publisher – Create professional publications
  • InfoPath – Design electronic forms
  • Access – Manage data

Two other applications associated with Office 2013, but purchased separately:

  • Visio – Develop professional diagrams (flow-charts, org charts, etc.)
  • Project – Manage a portfolio of projects

Microsoft Office 365

Office 365 is a collection of three primary, online, Microsoft-hosted services:

  • Exchange Online – Email, contacts, calendar
  • SharePoint Online – Document sharing, storage, and collaboration
  • Lync Online – Messaging with multi-party video conferencing

These online services integrate with Office 2013, but are not part of Office 2013.

Office 365 can be licensed in several formats for organizations:

  • Office 365 Small Business – $6 to $12.50/user per month based on options
  • Office 365 Medium Business – $180/user per year ($15/month)
  • Office 365 Enterprise – $8 to $22/user per month based on options

The more-expensive versions of Office 365 include a non-perpetual subscription to Office 2013.  Charitable and government organizations receive special pricing.

Overlap and differences between Office 2013 and Office 365

Office 2013 and Office 365 overlap in that some Office 365 versions include a subscription to Office 2013. Also, Office 2013 was designed to work with Office 365.

Differences include:

  • Only Office 365 includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online; Office 2013 includes only the desktop applications mentioned above.
  • Office 365 is rented under a subscription-based offering; you pay per user.
  • Office 2013 can be rented, but is also available as a perpetual license; you purchase it one-time and own it under the terms of the license agreement.

Special note:  You can purchase Office 2013 outright (through one of the perpetual-licensing models) and then use it with your Office 365 subscription.

References

Please visit http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ for details on Microsoft Office 365 and Office 2013.

Related articles:

Microsoft Streamlines Windows Server Options, Kills Versions for Home and Small Business

/in , , /by

Microsoft has revealed that the Windows Server 2012 options will be drastically streamlined from the myriad choices of its predecessor. In the paring down, though, Microsoft is killing off Windows Small Business Server, and Windows Home Server–the two most popular versions for small and medium businesses (SMBs).

On the one hand, the news is quite welcome. Variety may be the spice of life, but when it comes to choosing which version of Microsoft’s server operating system is right for you business it’s just confusing. Choice is one thing, but too many choices makes the decision much more complicated than it needs to be.

With Windows Server 2012, Microsoft will only offer four versions: Datacenter, Standard, Essentials, and Foundation. Even better, the versions are all equipped with essentially the same features and capabilities, and the only real difference is the number of virtual machines each can handle. That means that Windows Server 12 Standard Edition will include features like Windows Server failover clustering, and BranchCache hosted cache server that were previously reserved only for the Datacenter and Enterprise versions.

For the most part, though, SMBs aren’t really interested in those enterprise-class capabilities, and they’ve been satisfied working with Windows Home Server, or Windows Small Business Server–which includes core functionality of Exchange Server and SharePoint Server. These organizations are going to have to make a switch, though, when it comes time to upgrade.

According to a PDF from Microsoft titledWindows Server 2012 Essentials: Frequently Asked Questions, both of these versions are superseded by Windows Server 2012 Essentials. Microsoft explains that it has focused on making Windows Server 2012 Essentials the ideal operating system platform for both small businesses and home users.

The decision is driven–at least in part–by current tech trends, and Microsoft’s own focus on cloud-based tools and services. Microsoft explains, “With Windows Server 2012 Essentials, customers can take advantage of the same type of integrated management experience whether they choose to run an on-premises copy of Exchange Server, subscribe to a hosted Exchange service, or subscribe to Office 365.”

The bottom line is that SMBs don’t need to have Exchange or SharePoint bundled with Windows Server. Windows Server 2012 Essentials will meet the server platform needs of most organizatons–even better than its predecessor thanks to the across the board feature parity–and an Office 365 subscription can deliver Exchange, SharePoint, and Office as a hosted service.

References: PC World: Business Center