Mobile and cloud computing have tremendously enhanced the productivity of users. You can now literally work from anywhere and share the work documents with colleagues who could be anywhere in the world. In this article, we will cover the following topics;
- Brief introduction to cloud computing
- What is Office 365?
- Advantages of Office 365
- Disadvantages of Office 365
- How to subscribe to Office 365
Brief introduction to cloud computing
The computing world is moving more towards cloud and mobile computing. Most users have access to mobile devices i.e. smartphones & tablets, and high speed internet. Most software companies have taken advantage of this powerful cloud and Mobile computing technology to develop mobile apps that enhance users' productivity.
What is Office 365?
Office 365 is a suite of programs from Microsoft that run both locally and can be synchronized to cloud storage as well. The programs can be accessed from;
- Desktop computers – installed as Microsoft Office 365
- Web – Office online allows you to create and edit documents using lightweight versions of Office applications.
- Mobile devices – smartphones and tablets
Excel is also part of the programs that are shipped with Office 365. You can use the powerful features found in desktop versions of excel in the cloud based version too.
Devices supported by Office 365?
- Android powered devices
- iOS phones and iOS powered tablets
- Windows powered devices (Smartphones and tablets)
- Windows operating system(s)
- OS X operating system(s)
Advantages of Office 365
- Improved user productivity
- Ability to access documents from multiple devices and locations
- Easily share documents with colleagues
- 1 TB storage with OneDrive
- How to subscribe to Office 365
- Easily recover data from the cloud if you lose your computer or it crashes etc.
Disadvantages of Office 365
- Since this is a cloud based service, there is a possibility of outages if something happens with the cloud services for Office 365
- Ease of access from multiple devices/locations may also pose security risks if the users do not follow security best practices
How to subscribe to Office 365
If you would like to try out Office 365 or get more details, you can visit this link. http://products.office.com/en-us/business/office or http://products.office.com/en-us/try. Since this is a subscription based service, you will be required to pay for it every month. You can try it for free for 30 days.
Summary
Office 365 is a powerful cloud based version of Microsoft office that includes excel as well. Office 365 gives you the ability to access, create and edit excel documents from multiple devices and locations. This greatly enhances your productivity as you can work from anywhere in the world.