Employees who utilize modern mobile technology are more creative, satisfied and productive at work yet 75 percent of American workers feel their companies are not using the latest efficiency-boosting tools. While traditional Microsoft Office products like Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook lay the foundation for success, on-premise connections are severely limiting. If your business hasn’t moved to the Cloud yet, employees may be working off outdated documents due to multiple versions floating around, or they could be losing productivity because of limited file access when travelling for work.
For these reasons and many more, it’s not really a matter of if your business should move to the Cloud, but rather a question of how. Microsoft Office 365 enables employees to work more efficiently through familiar, cloud-based Office applications along with team chat, group email, online meetings, real-time co-authorship, secure file sharing and more. Google provides similar cloud-based productivity apps covering basic collaboration needs via G Suite.
For IT leaders, it’s important to continually evaluate these productivity tools and the most efficient way to manage them. In addition to choosing the right solution, it’s also critical to partner with the most qualified Managed IT Services Provider (MSP). As one of Microsoft’s few direct Cloud Solution Providers, QCS Group helps take the complexity out of migration, support and ongoing administration of Office 365.
Here are five reasons businesses choose managed Microsoft Office 365 over other apps:
Flexible Pricing
Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite costs vary by organisation size and feature sets. However, many independent business evaluations have found Office 365 is a more cost-effective solution. For example, the CIO for the city of Palo Alto, Calif. chose Office 365 over G Suite because Microsoft offered superior functionality to Google. Additionally, the city government discovered Office 365 was actually 50 percent cheaper than Google Apps for the same set of features.
Working with QCS Group helps further maximise your Office 365 investment. Our certified Microsoft experts analyse your organisation to find the most affordable mix of features for every user, ensuring you’re never paying for wasted seats or unused apps.
Superior Privacy & Security
Human error or system failure account for 52 percent of all data security breaches. For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the costs of a breach are staggering IBM reports 60 percent will go out of businesses within six months of a cyber attack. Microsoft Office 365 combats this with essential privacy control functions, including email encryption, DLP, network access encryption, anti-spam and more, whereas G Suite fails to tick several of these boxes, potentially leaving organisations vulnerable to an attack.
Partnering with QCS Group further maximises your organisation’s security with around-the-clock support. We help your company define and implement specific security policies, and ensure you always have the latest version of Office.
More Storage Capacity
File storage is a serious issue for businesses of every size; when inboxes or servers run out of space, critical messages can’t be delivered and important projects can’t be saved properly. If these are common frustrations for your employees, Microsoft Office 365 is probably the best choice. With Office 365, you gain 1 TB of file storage per user for entry-level plans, plus 50 GB for email. G Suite splits storage among all of its apps and offers just 30 GB of storage in its base plan, which also encompasses email.
When QCS Group evaluates your organisation to optimise Office 365 licensing, we take your storage needs into account. Our Microsoft experts recommend the most cost-effective plans with plenty of space.
More Apps & Better Functionality
When it comes to the actual productivity tools, Microsoft Office 365 plans provide desktop, as well as cloud-based versions, enabling your employees to easily work offline. G Suite offers a handful of cloud-based apps with less functionality than Office 365. For instance, Microsoft Excel has been the gold standard spreadsheet tool for decades. It’s designed to crunch complex numbers and import and export mass quantities of data. Meanwhile, Google Sheets does the basics: graph creation, auto-fill sums and more but it lacks the computation power of Excel.
Office 365 offers a more robust toolbox, but QCS Group can help your employees make the most of it. We help them adapt to new Office 365 solutions and features, maximising overall productivity.
24/7/365 Support
Software issues can disrupt work performance, which makes quick solutions critical. Microsoft and Google offer nearly identical technical support services for their products. Both provide 24/7 support via phone or email for critical issues. For non-critical issues, technical support is available during normal business hours.
At QCS Group, we understand your business relies on speed and reliability. That’s why our certified Microsoft experts are always here for you. We offer 24/7/365 technical support via phone or email for issues of any severity level, and we also provide a monthly ticket analysis accessible via a self-service portal.
The Clear Choice: QCS Group’s Managed Microsoft Office 365 Solutions
When it comes to cloud-based productivity tools, there’s no contest. With flexible pricing, better security, more entry-level storage and superior apps, Microsoft Office 365 is the clear winner for SMBs. With proven expertise in licensing, user configuration, administration and support, QCS Group is the best partner to manage it.
To learn how QCS Group’s Managed Office 365 services can transform your business, reach out to marius@qcsgroup.com.au or call 1300 858 723
