Office 365
Office 365 is a suite of products by Microsoft that covers the following common business needs:
- Office products such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
- Online versions of Office products on any device including smartphones and tablets
- Reliable email service Exchange Online
- Robust file sharing and collaboration system using SharePoint Online
- Unified communications with Skype for Business, allowing voice, video, instant messaging, and presence
Requirements
Access to domain name management panel to add email routing records
Access to existing email admin and user mailboxes
Why Cloud Server?
Organizations need to establish reliable and secure operations for users to work with work applications, such as QuickBooks and other business applications, as well as file storage, and sharing. While smaller workgroups can use a dedicated workstation for basic workloads, companies should consider having a reliable server to support business operations and growth.
Below are a few different solution options. Please review carefully to ascertain the best fit for your company’s needs.
| Workstation | On-site server | Cloud server | |
|---|---|---|---|
| File storage | Allows simple file sharing | Advanced sharing with archiving, group policies | Creates cloud storage and archives with superior safety and unlimited storage |
| Centralized management | No | Yes | Seamlessly connects remote users |
| Access control and security | Manual by user | Group management | Shares encrypted files through a secure cloud platform |
| Backup | Individual backups | Centralized backups | On-site and cloud backup options |
| Disaster recovery | No | No | Georedundant data centers ensure uninterrupted operations |
| Server software platform | No | Yes, allows multi-user mode with certain business applications | Yes, connects remote users to the same applications from anywhere |
| Hardware cost | Low | High | Built into the subscription |
| Software cost | Low | High | Built into the subscription |
| Setup cost | Low | Industry standard | Industry standard |
Figure 1 Conceptual scheme of solution:
Solution requirements:
- Purchase of a monthly subscription for MS Azure cloud services and configuration
- Migrate existing IT services and business applications with proprietary data to MS Azure
- Switch users to MS Azure services
Advantages of solution
- Reduced cost of ownership as compared to on-premise deployment due to the following features of MS Azure:
- Avoids upfront costs of purchasing hardware and software licenses
- Simplified IT administration and management with better security (Microsoft is responsible for security patches, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks)
- Server maintenance such as upgrades, patch management, and anti-virus (also covered by Microsoft)
- Flexible scalability – Deployment of new services are done within hours to support your business growth
- Guaranteed availability – Windows Azure offers a standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) which ensures that you get 99.95% uptime for any Azure services, with 24×7 tech support, and round-the-clock service health monitoring
- Flexible costs – Pay-As-You-Go payment method, billing only for hours and data you actually use
- Full integration with existing IT-infrastructure through the secure virtual private network connections