Tag: Office 365

Microsoft Whiteboard App

Originally designed for the Microsoft Surface Pro the Whiteboard app became widely available earlier this year for web and within Microsoft Teams. You can now easily collaborate with people using Microsoft Whiteboard regardless of what device they’re using or if they have an app installed. 

But what is the Microsoft Whiteboard App? Whiteboard is an interactive canvas jam-packed with intuitive features to help you visually communicate with others. It’s a fantastic tool for meetings and has the added ability to include remote team members, as it now works seamlessly with Microsoft Teams.  

Our favourite features:

Save automatically – Your whiteboards are stored safely in the cloud until you’re ready to use them again. Gone are the days of taking pictures of whiteboards and flip charts following meetings, with the Whiteboard it’s all there ready without you even having to click save.

Share seamlessly – Microsoft has created several pre-designed templates for Whiteboard to help you mimic workplace scenarios such as brainstorms, project planning, sprint planning etc. More templates are being added each month so keep your eyes peeled for your new favourite. 

Limit-free creation – Restrictions can block creativity. Whiteboard can transform your work into editable images, charts, flows, sticky notes and shapes on an interface designed for mouse, pen, touch or keyboard. 

For more information on the Whiteboard and other applications within Office 365 give our team a call and make the most of your Office 365 subscription. 

Number 3 in our Jargon Buster series: Microsoft Teams

Another tool within Office 365’s robust suite of services is the popular Microsoft Teams. Teams is a chat-based collaboration tool released by Microsoft in 2017. Although the tool is still somewhat ‘new’ to the market it has flattened the competitors and is now leading the space with the highest number of raw-user. 

Microsoft Teams gives you and your team the space to collaborate, creating a shared work-space where you can chat, meet, share files and work with business apps. 

The question is how does Teams help your business and which of its features would you find useful? We have pulled together our favourite features that our clients love for you to better understand if Teams is the right choice for your organisation. 

Meetings

Microsoft Teams really shines when it comes to meeting functionality. Teams gives you the ability to host audio, video and web conferences with anyone inside your company or an external third party. 

Features like scheduling assistance, note-taking, desktop sharing, uploading files, and chat messaging really highlights that Microsoft are focusing on making Teams the best-in-class tool for collaboration. Microsoft have announced Skype’s end-of-life date for July 2021 so for those that predominantly use this for their business conferencing needs it may be worth looking at making the switch to Teams. 

In addition to its regular meeting features Microsoft Teams also has the capability to host live large meetings and events. For example, if you needed, with Teams’ help you could give a virtual presentation to up to 10,000 attendees! 

Calls

The phone system within Microsoft Teams has PBX (Private Branch Exchange) capabilities and can even replace your on-premise PBX. Specialist calling features allows you to create call groups so that a specific colleague can answer your calls and gives you the ability to create and configure shared numbers.  

First-line Benefits 

First-line employees are often mobile, Microsoft Teams gives you access to training materials, handbooks, policies and on-demand video content via a mobile device. Compatibility with apps such as ‘Shifts’ creates seamless integration with your workforce management system.  

Security & Compliance 

Microsoft Teams was designed with your organisation’s advanced security needs in mind. Admin functionality grants you the ability to make granular changes and includes capabilities such as; data loss prevention, information barriers, retention policies, eDiscovery, legal hold, and more.

Free Consultation 

If your business is ready to make the switch to Microsoft Teams, Monpellier are here to help. Monpellier are a trusted Microsoft partner specialising in providing an end-to-end solution and support. If you would like more information on Teams or any of Microsoft’s products,  give our team a call on 0191 500 8150.

Number 2 in our Jargon Buster Series: SharePoint 

It’s hard to avoid a mention of SharePoint these days with many productivity experts hailing it as a must-have collaboration tool. But what exactly is SharePoint and how can it be used to help your business?

What is SharePoint?

In very simple terms SharePoint is a web-based document management and collaboration tool. It works with Office 365 and has a core set of functionalities including; document storage, intranet capabilities, and organisation sharing. 

Benefits of using SharePoint 

1. 1. Collaboration – Using SharePoint allows users to stay connected, even during live projects with the use of document version history. Losing information in a cluttered inbox becomes a thing of the past as all employees have access to critical and up-to-date documents at their fingertips. 
   2. Security – Integrated security within the platform protects your data from unauthorised access. You can set permissions per user giving you ultimate control over user visibility. 
   3. Customisation – SharePoint is jam-packed with unique tools that allow you to tweak your organisations build to look and function in a way that works for you. Add custom features, widgets, calendars and request forms to your organisation’s intranet in order to maximise productivity. 
   4. Less Training – By working seamlessly with Office 365 SharePoint feels familiar from the start. In addition to support from your solution provider, Microsoft have free training courses available via their support site to help with the integration of your new collaboration tool. 
   5. Informed Decisions – Use SharePoint to create personalised dashboards that allow your employees to see information from different sources and make better-informed decisions. For example, you could create a dashboard that acts as a live report area that allows you direct access to things such as KPI’s, critical financial data or even current stock levels. 

Free Consultation 

Monpellier are a trusted Microsoft partner specialising in providing an end-to-end solution and support. If you would like more information on SharePoint or any other Microsoft products give our team a call on 0191 500 8150. 

As part of our Jargon Buster Series we’re looking into the world of 365

Microsoft is galloping ahead with their business software solutions and are constantly adding to their plethora of products and add-ons. But in this minefield of new offerings, it’s hard to make sense of what each product is, what functionality they include and how it can be applied to your business. 

Our Jargon Buster Series has been created to cut through the noise, explain each solution in real terms and give you the information you need to make the right decision for your business.  

Microsoft 365 VS Office 365

Microsoft 365 and Office 365 seemingly the same thing right? Unfortunately not… 

Office 365 is Outlook plus the usual Office suite sold as a Cloud-based service through a subscription model. There are lots of different Office 365 plans (Business Essentials and Business Premium) that cover your different needs as a business. Subscriptions are calculated per number of users and have the benefit of always providing you with the most recent version making compatibility and upgrades a thing of the past.  

In comparison, Microsoft 365 includes everything you get with Office 365 plus Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility + Security. This bundle gives you Microsoft’s latest operating system paired with a suite of mobility and security tools that gives your data extra protection. 

So which option is right for me?

Realistically, the best option is to speak with a Microsoft Partner to ensure your chosen solution is the right fit for your needs. We recommend this because of the amount of options that can be added to your subscription is so vast a consultation with an expert ins simply invaluable.  

However, in basic terms both solutions give you the full Office 365 package, but Microsoft 365 gives you even more (Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security). Apart from the additional features the only differences appear when it comes to device management. Unlike Office 365, Microsoft 365 comes with a single console to manage users and devices. This added feature lets you manage Windows 10 PC’s with an easy-to-use setup wizard. 

Free consultation

Monpellier are a trusted Microsoft partner specialising in providing an end-to-end solution and support. If you would like more information on Microsoft 365, Office 365 or other Microsoft products give our team a call on 0191 500 8150.