What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365: definition

Until 2020, Microsoft 365 was called Office 365 and is more than an Office suite to install. It bundles applications, cloud services and management tools in a subscription paid monthly or annually per user. Updates are included, and programs and data are available on several devices.

For small and mid-sized companies, the Business plans are the most relevant; they are designed for up to 300 users. Larger organizations use the Enterprise plans with extended features. Which components are included differs by plan, and Microsoft adjusts packages and prices regularly. Check the current overview before making a decision.

The most important components

The value comes from the way the services work together: documents live in the cloud, are edited jointly, discussed in Teams and sent through Outlook. The applications run on Windows, Mac, smartphones and in the browser, so employees on the move and in the office work from the same version. Key building blocks are:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook as desktop, web and mobile apps
• Exchange Online for email, calendar and contacts
• SharePoint and OneDrive for file storage and collaboration
• Teams for chat, video conferencing and teamwork
• Microsoft Entra ID and Intune for sign-in and device management (depending on the plan)
• Security features such as two-factor authentication and phishing protection (depending on the plan)

Real-world example: a trades business replaces its provider mailbox

A skilled-trades business with 15 employees has so far used email mailboxes from its web host and file storage on a network drive in the office. At home or on the construction site, staff struggle to reach quotes and plans, and their calendars do not match.

After the switch, the mailboxes live in Exchange Online, project folders in SharePoint, and calendars are in sync. Everyone accesses them by app from any device. The changeover is planned in stages: email migration over a weekend, a folder structure cleaned up beforehand and a short briefing for everyone involved.

Benefits, limits and common mistakes

Microsoft 365 saves the operation and maintenance of your own mail and file servers, offers real-time collaboration and grows with the company. At the same time, there are ongoing subscription costs, and dependence on one vendor increases. Data protection remains the company’s responsibility: a data processing agreement, suitable settings and a review of data processing are required.

Typical mistakes are accounts without two-factor authentication, overly generous sharing, Teams groups that have grown without oversight and the assumption that Microsoft backs up the data like a backup would. Deleted content can only be restored for a limited time; an independent backup is therefore sensible and advisable for important data.

Introduction and support

A good introduction starts with an inventory of mailboxes, files and devices, a permissions and folder structure and a migration plan. Nano Concepts accompanies the change from planning through data transfer and security settings to training and ongoing support for users—if you wish, together with device setup via Intune and Autopilot.