KTL Solutions is a full-service technology consulting firm. We end up working with our clients on a broad range of issues like ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence, and Custom Development, but as a Certified Microsoft CSP (Cloud Solutions Provider) we are also actively involved with many of our clients on the topics of Office 365. Office 365 is the best-in-class, integrated, cloud-based productivity tool helping SMB’s serve their customers, protect their business, and keep ahead of their competition.
Office 365 has been a significant area of interest with my customers. I have found that my customers fall into two (2) categories, but both sets have the same needs and concerns.
The two (2) customer categories are as follows:
- New Office 365 Customers – Customers that want to move to Office 365 from legacy On-Prem systems or complete migrations from other cloud solutions.
- Office 365 Under Utilization – These are customers that are on Office 365 and are familiar using the traditional Office Suite (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) but are underutilizing or not using the other tools in the Platform (e.g. Skype for Business, SharePoint, OneNote, Etc.). Many of the customers are paying for other services/apps (i.e. DropBox, GoToMeeting, etc.) when better functionality is already part of their Office 365 platform & license.
My customers fall evenly into these two categories, but I have found that regardless of which category they are in they have similar struggles and goals. We all know the way we work today is different! The days of working from 9 to 5, in one office and on one computer are over. We must be able to work from anywhere, on any device, any time of the day, and with people all around our organization. We must do this with a tool that keeps our information safe and secure and is accessible 24/7.
Office 365 provides Enterprise-level productivity, technology, and security solutions that are affordable and accessible by the SMB. Regardless of the size of your company, you can have the same tools as the big guy!
Working in the cloud and cloud adoption by Large Businesses and SMB’s is growing rapidly. Office 365 is a cloud solution, and clearly today we can’t talk about any cloud solution without talking about Security. Rather than address all of that here I would like you to reference the following information:
- Trust Center – Hear, in Microsoft’s own words, what they are doing in this area. No Cloud provider in the market is doing as much.
- Office 365 Security and Compliance Whitepaper
One key question to ask yourself as you read this Security information: is my data safer in my server room or in Office 365? How did you answer?
There is a lot to take in but let me give you a real-life example from one our clients and the results of their recent Office 365 migration:
- DC-based Non-Profit Organization (10 employees, 3 of which work remotely)
- No dedicated IT staff. They had an On-premise server providing file storage and email services.
- Main Challenges
- Aging server that required significant capital expenditure to replace
- No IT Staff
- The organization has several events annually which require staff to be in the field
- The ability to access files and emails remotely for out of state staff and event support while in the field was unreliable
- Storage space on the server and individual workstations and laptops were becoming a problem
- Staff uses both PC and Mac’s and were experiencing significant compatibility issues
- The above challenges made staff feel unproductive at times, created work for them and frustrated them.
- Actions
- Client was already using other Cloud applications in their business
- The client wanted to move to Office 365 and migrate all file server functions to Office 365
- On-Premise email was migrated to Exchange online, and all file storage was migrated to OneDrive Accounts and a company SharePoint site
- Results
- No pending capital expenditure to upgrade IT infrastructure and significantly reduced demand for IT support
- Email and file accessibility issues eliminated
- File storage issues eliminated and created better collaboration tools for sharing and working together
- Same user experience regardless of device eliminated PC & Mac Compatibility issues
- Staff adoption has been overwhelming, they feel more productive and have a lot less frustration
Some of the challenges this customer was experiencing may sound familiar to your organization. If it sounds familiar, you need to consider making a change. Please feel free to contact me at sreid@ktlsolutions.com, and we can start developing a plan to help your organization.
STEPHEN REID | Account Manager
Stephen Reid is a business development representative at KTL Solutions, a full technology consulting firm. Steve will work with new and existing clients to identify areas where they can better utilize technology to improve processes and increase efficiencies in their organizations.
As a consistently top-performing sales executive, Steve has built a successful career around his ability to assess and anticipate customer needs, identify unique alternatives, and develop and implement long-term solutions. Throughout his more than 25 years of B2B strategic sales and marketing leadership, Steve maintains a genuine commitment to ongoing client service and satisfaction which has allowed him to grow strong, sustainable partnerships.
