Microsoft’s cloud-based office productivity suite, Office 365 offers the flexibility, reliability, and accessibility of the cloud with its well-known Microsoft Office suite of applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. With multiple subscription-levels, and options starting as low as $5 per user, per month (with annual commitment), Office 365 gives businesses of all sizes (and budgets) access to a powerful set of business productivity applications as well as secured, encrypted email, and cloud storage options. As Office 365 is offered in the form of Software-As-A-Service (SaaS), updates are automatically rolled out.
Office 365 has some new updates available right now and some additional upgrades and enhancements due in the near future. Here are just a few of them:
Office 365 Video
On the official Office Blog, Microsoft recently uploaded a blog post titled, What’s New – Office 365 Video, showcasing a new and improved video tool for Office 365 subscribers. Office 365 Video is available for those who have an Office 365 subscription that includes SharePoint Online (or if they have a SharePoint Server on-premise). According to Microsoft, Office 365 Video is a “Corporate solution for uploading and sharing video content, on-premises, and online.” New options include support for Subtitles and Closed-Captioning, the ability to select a thumbnail and/or upload your own custom thumbnail, and the ability to download and view videos offline.
Unlike YouTube and other video streaming sites, Office 365 stores your video content securely on your own SharePoint server. Users don’t have to deal with advertisements or pop-ups that are present on other video sites. Companies can choose to only give access to videos on the intranet, or to provide online access. Plus users can establish channels so you can have video content for specific departments such as Human Resources, Finance, Marketing, etc.
Office 365 Admin Center
The new Office 365 Admin Center rolled out in March 2016 in the United States and is due internationally in April. With a cleaned-up, streamlined user interface, the new Admin Center allows system admins to view application status, subscriptions, and billing right on the home dashboard. Additionally, the new Admin Center comes with enhanced reporting that tracks activity such as how many employees use a specific application on a weekly basis, or if users are not utilizing specific tools which could mean they either need more training or a need isn’t being met by a specific application. These reports help businesses to get the most out of their Office 365 subscriptions.
Skype for Business (New Features Coming Soon)
Skype for Business replaced Microsoft Lync almost a full year ago. However, like most new software releases, there is always room for improvement. Microsoft will be introducing some new features appealing to customer demand and fixing some previous issues including a Cloud Connector Edition of Skype for Business that allows customers to use the Office 365 Cloud PBX (Private Branch Exchange) with the carrier of their choice. Future support for meeting rooms that work in conjunction with videoconferencing systems is expected as is improved analytics and reporting for video and voice calling in Skype for Business.
