From wireless accessibility to security, small businesses can gain a lot from moving their office software to the cloud.

Microsoft Office 365 offers many benefits to its users, especially small businesses, from seamless integration and collaboration to built-in security protecting important data. The cloud-based service gives business owners the ability to focus on the things that really matter while helping the day-to-day functions within the business run smoothly.

1. Seamless, easy collaboration in or out of the office

With Microsoft Office 365, employees do not have to be tethered to their desk in order to work or make changes on a document. OneDrive easily allows employees to access and make edits on a document on any desktop or mobile device—from anywhere.

This means that when employees are telecommuting or on business trips, their work efficiency is not affected because of a lack of access to the necessary files. All you need is a working internet connection to get access to your files stored on the cloud.

Efficiency is also increased when team members are able the view and make edits on the same document at the same time. OneDrive for Business is integrated with software like Word and Excel to facilitate a more streamlined collaborative process so that you are able to see changes to the document in real time.

2. Save costs on IT staff

As a small business, saving costs whenever and wherever you can is crucial. As Office 365 is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the latest software updates are automatically applied. This ensures that your staff are always using the most up to date and secure Office applications without the need for a dedicated IT staff to monitor and apply patches.

Maintenance and updates are scheduled automatically so your business is furnished with the latest security and IT features. More importantly, these updates happen in the background—which means that no employee time is wasted while updating.

3. Built-in security

It is normal to be cautious about data management and security—especially in a cloud-hosted environment. Office 365’s multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of security to the login process so that only the right people are able to access files within your business.

It also allows for management of mobile devices so business owners can control the data that employees can access on their phones. This is to mitigate any damage if employees lose or get their phones stolen.

With cybercrime a major issue affecting many small businesses, Office 365 offers advanced threat protection that can detect and stop malicious links and attachments even before they reach your inbox.

4. Easy implementation

Small businesses do not have to worry about the mechanics behind implementing Office 365. Singtel makes the service easy to purchase, get started and will offer exclusive local phone and email support.

Upon purchasing a plan, Singtel provides seamless migration and onboarding assistance. If you have any technical issues, you can reach the IT helpdesk support team easily. This means that businesses can again save costs on dedicated IT staff.

Business benefits-at-a-glance:

• Microsoft Office 365 increases efficiency with seamless collaboration amongst employees on any device.
• Automatic updates mean up-to-date software and no downtime.
• Security is guaranteed with multiple layers of protection including multi-factor authentication, mobile device management and advanced threat protection.
• Implementation at a breeze with local email and phone support.