What is Office 365?

I've now had the chance to quickly review Office 365 and I can see some areas where I feel it could be better and some areas where I think it could really benefit micro and small businesses.

In a nutshell, Office 365 is Microsoft's attempt at providing software as an online service. You get access to Office web apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote), Email, Calendar, web site, collaboration, instant messaging and online meetings.

My focus is reviewing Office 365 for micro and small business users. It is important to review Office 365 against your needs. The plan marketed by Microsoft to this group of businesses is "Microsoft Office 365 for professionals and small business". The plan is designed for up to 25 users.

To quote from the Microsoft site you receive:

- A solution without dedicated IT staff
- Essential email, calendar and web site services
- Free online community support
- Month-to-month subscription

If I look at this list it really doesn't impress me that much. Most small businesses I know don't have dedicated IT staff, they already have email, calendar and in quite a few cases web site services, can already get free online community support (which I think is a poor substitute for decent support) and even though it is a month-to-month subscription, as a business you need to make a decision that will last you for some time.

I should explain why I think community support is often a poor option for users. First I find there are quite a few members on community support forums who are rude and obnoxious. Whilst most are pretty good, the few spoil it for everyone. My experience is you will be offended by these people at some point in time. I don't like putting my clients in a position where they can get offended. I've found some of the advice to be substandard (from well meaning people) to the point where users would damage their computer should they take the advice. Since free support is just that, if a problem is hard and requires some effort that is where a quality paid support person will make sure the client is looked after. The other aspect is I find those putting a lot of energy into forums tend to become blinkered to other options, often obsessively pushing their cause. Users may not get a balanced opinion when there may be better options. Users can make better decisions if they're assisted and provided with options and information in a relatively unbiased manner. I don't generally find that on community support forums. It is simply the way forums work.

My initial impression is the sign up is cumbersome for Australians with Telstra being positioned between users and Microsoft. For some this will create confusion and means they will need IT support for the sign up, which really shouldn't be the case. If you're not the type of person who can set up your own email then you will need assistance. I felt a number of the features such as SharePoint will probably not be used by micro and small businesses and the web site tool is very limited in what it offers.

I looked at the needs of a few of my clients (micro and small business) and in each case it would be hard for them to justify moving to Office 365. Office 365 does offer some good new features for them, but at the same time they lose features they need.

If you have a business that doesn't have a web presence, you are using your Internet Service Provider's email address, or worse, Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo mail for your business, and would like to be more mobile, then Office 365 could be a very good match for you. But do make sure you take into account what you'd like to do in the future so you don't outgrow Microsoft's service.

My aim is to assist clients by providing them with advice and guidance as to whether Office 365 can be used as a tool in their business. I know of at least two businesses who could potentially benefit from moving to Office 365.

The funny thing is if Microsoft had simply provided the option for people to upload their own html or PHP based site rather than their restrictive canned approach, I'd have quite a few more clients. There are some real benefits to be had from using Office 365, but the restrictions make migrating to Office 365 much harder to justify.

It really is a case of reviewing the client's needs and then seeing if Office 365 can match those needs, or whether a different solution is required.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au