Everyone resides at different levels of technical proficiency. As a result, training concepts must be flexible and cater to varying levels of understanding. To properly use Office 365, one must first understand what Office 365 is…
What is Office 365?
Office 365 is a cloud suite from Microsoft. This suite is available via a subscription model and the offering includes storage, collaboration apps, and productivity tools:
- Outlook for email
- OneDrive for storage
- OneNote for documentation
- Excel for spreadsheets
- Teams for communication
- etc.
What is the cloud?
Many people have at least heard of “the cloud”. At least in passing… But rarely is “the cloud” explained. Its concept isn’t too difficult and is actually pretty straightforward. The idea is storing YOUR files on someone else’s computer and accessing YOUR files from anywhere using the internet. For now, you’re storing YOUR files on Microsoft’s computer(s).
Why Office 365?
Why is this useful? Why is this even a thing? Because you no longer need to:
- Add more RAM to your computer,
- Add more storage to your computer,
- Backup your documents,
- Backup your computer, or
- Email files for collaboration.
Scenario #1:
Your computer is running sluggish because you’ve installed too many programs. You can either purchase more RAM for your computer or uninstall some programs. But what if your computer doesn’t have room for additional RAM? And what if you can’t uninstall any programs because they’re all essential?
Office 365 offers web-based versions of Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These essential, yet heavy, programs can be accessed from any browser, thus reducing strain on your computer. These web-based versions are lighter than their local alternatives, and the local programs can be uninstalled…
Scenario #2:
In your free time, you’ve started a photography business. Fast-forward three years and you’ve now had dozens of clients. You don’t want to delete any pictures, but your computer is quickly filling up with the raw and edited images. You could buy an external drive, or you could upload these images to OneDrive!
When your computer runs out of space, you’ll need to buy additional storage. Typically a larger computer or several external drives. But with OneDrive, Microsoft gives you 1 TB of storage. More than enough space now, but there is the option to purchase more storage when needed. Why take up space on your computer when you can take up space on Microsoft’s computer?!
Scenario #3:
Senior year of college and you’re using Microsoft Word to type your final paper for capstone! Every hour you email yourself a copy of the paper… Why? Because if something can go wrong, then it will:
- What if your computer gets a virus and it only targets your paper?
- What if your roommate trips and spills coffee on your keyboard, and it corrupts the file?
- What if your computer is stolen by Lupin III?
Semi-irrational, but Office 365 mitigates all of these problems. If a virus infects your file or its corrupted, Microsoft empowers you to restore an earlier version of the file. Microsoft Word automatically saves whenever changes are made with your Office 365 subscription. Lastly, if your computer is stolen by the master thief, then your paper is still safe and sound in your OneDrive account…
Scenario #4:
Ransomware is a thing now. Hackers infect your computer and its taken hostage, but you can’t pay the ransom. Additionally, you can’t open ANY of your computer files because they’ve been encrypted by the hackers!
Good news! Office 365 takes daily snapshots of your OneDrive. Without losing all of your files, you can “Restore your OneDrive” to a state before you were infected by the ransomware. Almost like a rewind button…
Scenario #5:
Group project time! Everything is complete except for the group’s final report and all 5 members must enter their findings. Traditionally, someone would email everyone a copy of the document, then consolidate the changes into a single document. Or email one person, ask that they enter their information, then email the report to the next group member…
Office 365 offers a better solution. Rather than emailing the report, email the group a link to the report. There is now a single file that everyone is updating and the changes are reflected in real-time. This co-authoring is seamless and you can see your group members working.
Bonus!
Many of the web-based applications of the Office 365 suite also have mobile apps for Android and iOS. Additionally, Microsoft is rolling out an Office app that will consolidate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single app…
Conclusion:
There are numerous reasons to embrace “the cloud”! However, it helps to understand what it is and why its useful for millions of people. Microsoft has developed their own flavor of “the cloud” with Office 365. Give it a try…
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
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