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Whether you're a small business, a growing business or a huge multinational, Microsoft 365 is a fantastic option for any company looking to digitalise itself.
Through Microsoft's cloud hosting system, all of your team are able to work collaboratively and effortlessly with the help of a series of apps, web apps, hosted emails and online storage through Sharepoint and Onedrive.
While competitors such as Zoho and Google are improving their offerings all the time, Microsoft remains the industry leader and allows you team to use familiar applications with fantastic functionality.
Today, we are focusing on the apps, as this is the bit that tends to make sure your team work better together, by making standard processes that much easier and simpler.
We are often asked what kind of apps Microsoft 365 for business includes. The answer is that, while there are a wide range of add-ons, the Standard and Premium business packages include mobile, web and desktop versions of all the familiar Microsoft office apps - fully installed and always up to date. The most basic business package contains web and mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
A full list of the apps automatically included in the standard and premium packages would go something like this:
- Word
- Excel
- Outlook
- Powerpoint
- OneNote
- OneDrive
- Sharepoint
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange
- Microsoft Lists
- Microsoft Forms
- Access
- Publisher
- Microsoft Defender
But our favourite apps are the following ones:
OneNote
OneNote is great for notes, pretty self-explanatory here. But you can also add documents or share your notes with your colleagues directly from the app. Take photos, screen shots or audio recordings and add them straight into your notes too, to really upgrade your note-taking.
The app works fantastically on tablet and touchscreen, for obvious reasons, and its organised layout will mean you never again loose that vital piece of information you noted down during a client meeting.
Outlook
Outlook is the main email program for Windows is pretty much unrivalled for its efficiency. The app automatically filters your emails and allows you to set item alerts for important emails and allows you to @specific coworkers to notify them of tasks or updates.
The software also integrates seamlessly with the calendar function- automatically adding and amending the events mentioned in emails - and other Microsoft apps. We love the feature which allows you to send copies of MS Team conversations as an email.
With the Microsoft 365 for Business package, you can also create your own custom email domain.
Publisher
Publisher is great if you're not a designer but need to quickly create a visual document for your clients.
This app is not included in the business basics package but does come as a desktop application with the other Business 365 subscriptions.
The wide range of templates means you can create all manner of documents including newsletters, leaflets, calendars, email layouts and more. Easy to use, you'll be generating beautiful reports in no time!
Access
Access is the go-to resource for database management in the Microsoft 365 suite. Store and sort plenty of data sources at the drop of a hat.
It allows for simple app development meaning you can easily create an app, without any coding knowledge. This is incredibly useful for sorting out those niggly tasks or gaps in your process as your business grows.
The app also integrates with a variety of data sources so you can access them in a familiar, manageable format.
Teams
Microsoft Teams provides instant messaging, calls, online meetings and file transfer. The ultimate in telecommunications, Teams makes keeping in touch with your workforce really easy connected via your internet connection. So however remote your workforce are, rest easy in the knowledge they are just a few instant messages away. There are also a whole library of plugins for additional functions- everything from recognising a job well done to hosting themed quizzes.
Microsoft 365 even has an app store, to customize and download new apps as they come out. With this feature, you can add any other apps important for your work, like Slack or Photoshop.
We're a Microsoft Gold Partner and can help you with your Microsoft 365 set up, so get in touch by calling us on 0117 933 0570 or you can fill in our contact form.
Updated October 2021
