Explore how Microsoft for Business 365 with Microsoft Teams provided by We The IT Team can help your business improve cybersecurity, reduce costs, and empower employees to work from anywhere.
What is Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365 can help your business enable secure remote work and reduce costs, so you can remain productive while on-the-go. Offering one integrated solution including Teams, OneDrive cloud storage, and Office apps with advanced security options—at a price that’s right for your business.
How your business can benefit from Microsoft 365
Stay productive while working remotely
Help your team members get more done with productivity solutions and stay in touch with clients, working remotely or onsite.
Help secure your business
Help safeguard your business data with a cloud platform that offers built-in security features.
Collaborate more closely
Keep your team connected with tools that help support and enhance your communication channels.
Manage your IT with ease
Access your easy-to-use admin centre to manage all your services, set IT policies, and more.
Managing Microsoft 365 in an organization
Microsoft 365 includes a management dashboard that administrators can use to manage licenses, subscriptions, features, and security. That console can be overwhelming, and even then some features can only be managed through PowerShell commands.
Even in small organizations, it’s crucial to have a skilled Office 365 administrator who can manage users and configure security options properly. Unless you have in-house staff with proper training, it’s worth outsourcing this management task to a managed service provider.
At a minimum, every administrator should know the following entry points for Office 365 management:
Microsoft 365 portal Users can access web-based services here and also manage installations of Office desktop apps.
Microsoft 365 Admin Center For those users who have also been assigned administrator roles, this portal includes configuration options for managing users and groups, licenses, and billing. Options at the bottom of the navigation pane allow access to admin centers for specific services, such as Exchange Online and OneDrive for Business.
Azure Active Directory Admin Center Every Microsoft 365 business subscription also includes a free Azure Active Directory account. Administrators can manage users and devices from this portal and can also configure relationships with outside organizations and existing local servers. Note that some features require premium Azure AD subscriptions.
Securing accounts and content
Microsoft 365 services are designed to be secure by default. You can make several changes to default settings to strike the proper balance between security and convenience.
First, enable multi-factor authentication by signing into the Azure Active Directory portal as a global administrator. Each user needs to provide alternate means of contact, such as a phone number for receiving SMS messages. The Microsoft Authenticator app is especially useful as a primary means of generating one-time codes or receiving push notifications for signing in to Office 365 services.
Next, enable the self-service password reset. You’ll find a link to this option in the Security & Privacy section of the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal.
Microsoft 365 Plans
Which Microsoft 365 edition is right for your small business?
For small businesses, four Microsoft 365 plans support up to 300 users. All prices quoted below are current as of June 2021 and assume an annual commitment. (Monthly plans without a commitment typically cost about 25% more.)
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (previously Office 365 Business Essentials)
Includes only the online services, including Exchange Online and OneDrive for Business, without access to Office desktop apps. This plan is appropriate for organizations that want to have managed email and cloud storage but have an existing investment in Office desktop programs.
Microsoft 365 Apps business (previously Office 365 Business)
Includes only the Office desktop apps and OneDrive for Business cloud file storage. It does not include Exchange Online email or any other online services. It’s a good choice for small businesses that want easy access to Office apps and cloud storage but don’t want to switch their email to Microsoft’s servers.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard (previously Office 365 Business Premium)
Includes all of the online services and desktop apps.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium (previously Microsoft 365 Business)
Includes all of the online services and desktop apps, plus advanced cyberthreat protection and Microsoft Intune device management.
Which Microsoft 365 edition is right for your large business?
For larger organizations, Microsoft offers three Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans that support an unlimited number of users. Unlike their Office 365 predecessors, these plans now include per-user Windows Enterprise licensing, access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, Microsoft Intune device management tools, Windows AutoPilot, and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.
Microsoft 365 F3
Offers online services and online versions of the Office apps but does not include desktop apps. This plan is specifically targeted at organizations that want to offer email and cloud storage to frontline workers.
Microsoft 365 E3
Combines the full assortment of online services and desktop apps and is the most popular plan for larger companies. It includes advanced email hold and discovery features for dealing with litigation issues. It lacks a few features, such as the ability to integrate Microsoft Teams with an organization’s phone system, and it includes a subset of Azure Active Directory Premium features.
Microsoft 365 E5
Includes some advanced eDiscovery features but justifies its higher price tag with enterprise-grade security features. For example, every Microsoft 365 E5 subscription is automatically an endpoint for Microsoft 365 Threat Analytics and can be integrated with Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection.
In summary, if you are looking to make your business more productive by being able to;
- Chat, Call and Host Meetings
- Share Documents in the Cloud
- Collaborate using Office Apps
- Connect Via Email & Calendar
Make your business more secure by;
- Defending against cyberthreats
- Make customer data more secure
- Help Secure your Devices
- Manage USers and Devices
As well as gettin a cost-effective solutions that;
- Improves user productivity
- Saves on automation and IT Costs
- Consolidates vendor spend
- Reduces cost of security risks.
Feel free to reach out to us at We The IT Team if you have any quesyions or would like our assistance.