Easyspace is amongst a small number of UK companies that Microsoft have partnered with, who are able to offer the latest version of Microsoft Office: Office 365.
The new version of Microsoft Office – which includes familiar software that you know such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc – is now sold online, rather than receiving a disk in a box.
The days when you receive your software on a disk are being phased out. Instead Microsoft is adopting a model where you access your new Office 365 products – Excel, Word Outlook, etc – via the “Cloud”.
What is the Cloud?
If you use the internet, then odds are you already use the “cloud”. For example, if you have ever used websites such as Hotmail, Gmail, Facebook, Amazon, etc then this means you have already used the “cloud”. You have probably been using the cloud for years.
What’s new with Office 365 is businesses can now move to the cloud – your documents, your email, your meetings – potentially your entire business.
It basically means you access your their tools via the internet. So for Hotmail your would access your Email tools to create, send & receive emails. With Office 365 your would access their tools – Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc – via the internet where you would create, store, and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.
Banks and the Cloud
Imagine your data (files, documents, etc) is like money. Where do you keep your money? Centuries ago some people hid their money under their bed – a risky option since they could lose it all if it was stolen or if their house went on fire. Fortunately banks came along, enabling people to have a place they could safely store their money.
But what about your data. Where do you store it? Is it kept on an old computer? Again if your computer gets stolen or your office burns down then you will have lost your data – your customer contacts, your documents, etc. all lost. The best solution to avoid this is to put all your data in the “cloud” – just like you put all your money in the bank.

This new way of delivering Microsoft Office software has massive benefits for consumers & businesses:
- Secure Storage: Your files, documents, etc will be stored safely in the cloud. You reduce your risk with cloud computing.
- Access your Office anywhere: You will be able to access your files from any web browser. Create, edit, share and collaborate on any document.
- Always have the latest version of Office: You will never again need to organise an upgrade – in future this will be handled automatically in the cloud, so no need to remember about Microsoft licensing upgrades for different devices or versions.
- Mobile friendly: You will have he option to access your Office files via your smartphone, tablet, etc – wherever you are – at home, in the office or on the go.
- No upfront fees: It’s a cheaper way to get Office 365. It’s a rolling contract with no upfront fees. You only pay a recuring monthly fee, which you can stop at anytime at a month’s notice.
- Maintenance free: Business-class security & reliability. Updates, patches, and upgrades just happen in the background so you don’t need to worry about it. You get the benefits of using Office without any of the headaches of updating and maintaining it all.
- Built in anti-virus and anti-spam: Spam filtering and virus protection are automatically enabled on all inbound and outbound email messages by Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), the anti-spam and anti-malware service included with Office 365.
- Financially backed 99.9% uptime guarantee: Office 365 provides 99.9% availability while guaranteeing the highest possible standard of security. Technical support plans cover service levels up to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
- Geo-redundant infrastructure to safeguard your data: To ensure continuity, data is stored in geo-redundant data centres for quick recovery in the case of an outage. If there is an issue with a server or data centre, the affected customers are transferred to another data centre with limited interruption of service.
Office 365 for Business
Office 365 is the Office you know, on the devices you use most, whenever you need it and virtually wherever you are. Beginning with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Office 365 provides all the familiar apps you’ve come to depend on, along with a dynamic set of cloud connected tools that help you communicate, collaborate and get more done.
With Office 365 you will have access to Microsoft Exchange – your email, your calender, your contacts, your tasks, etc. So if you currently use an Exchange server e.g. located in your office, or hosted somewhere else, then it will move to Microsoft – Office 365. You will be “cloud hosted” at Microsoft’s datacentres, which are spread around the world.
You have the option of using SkyDrive which is Microsofts version of Dropbox – so you will be able to safely store your files in the cloud.
Businesses can also use Lync – a business version of instant messaging. It’s like chat except its for businesses. It ebales you to organise online meetings, video confernce calls, etc.
How will I access the new Microsoft Office 365?
No longer do you need to install disks into PC’s, etc. Now it’s much more simple – all you will do is login online – either via the Office.com website or by adding a link on your own website. It is quick, easy & secure. You or your staff would sign in using their email address and password. They will access a dashboard from which they will be able to use Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc – all the Office 365 tools.
How can I get Office 365?
You can find out more about Office 365 and choose which version suits you or your business best by either phoning us on 0370 755 5088 or visit: https://www.easyspace.com/office365
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