Is Microsoft Office 365 Right for Your Firm?

Office 365 also offers extensive security, data protection and user controls as part of the core offering. This includes automatic updates of the latest anti-spam, malware and other virus defenses as part of Office 365. User controls allow you to assign administrative rights and access credentials for all Office 365 users in your firm. You even have the ability to set up device-specific controls. For example, preventing access from a mobile device to certain information and files is a feature with Office 365. Furthermore, in the event a mobile device is stolen, Office 365 offers the ability to remotely remove the data on the device.

Perhaps one of the bigger misconceptions about cloud software is that you always have to be online while using it, perhaps using precious bandwidth or data limits. That’s not the case with Office 365 because desktop versions of various applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) are included in several subscription plans. Therefore, you can work offline using a desktop version and your files will be automatically synced once you are connected to the internet. The desktop version of Office is automatically updated with Office 365.

Microsoft offers a variety of subscription plans for Office 365, depending on the applications and services you need. Clearly, Microsoft is trying to be flexible to encourage adoption by smaller businesses. One pricing area that is not flexible, however: Office 365 is a true subscription model where you pay ongoing monthly user fees versus the traditional purchase model of paying 100% up front. This is nothing new to advisory firms because many are used to this “software as a service” monthly pricing model with other solutions utilized by their firm.

There are several competitive platforms to consider versus Office 365. Google’s G Suite should definitely be on the list. G Suite has many similar applications and services to Office 365. Outside the functional aspects of the comparison, your familiarity with these programs will have a significant influence on your evaluation. Most importantly, don’t base purchase decisions simply on price and don’t just keep purchasing the desktop version of Office because that is what you’ve always done.

It’s Still Your Data if You Leave Office 365

It is always important to understand what you will do with your data if you decide to cancel or replace a product. For Office 365, it is your data, and you need to be sure to back up the files before the subscription expires. These files can then potentially be converted to another platform solution. In addition, Microsoft will provide read-only access (no editing options) to your existing files for a limited time after the Office 365 subscription expires.

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