Microsoft has a pretty heavy price tag for the new Office Home and Business 2016, starting out at $229.99 for one product key code.
Why pay that for one user when Office 365 plans start at $5 per month? Small businesses can get access to Outlook Email with Calendars, Online conferencing, Skype, file storage and sharing with One drive, in addition to essential Office productivity applications for just $5 per month. Larger businesses that want to take advantage of Active Directory integration can do so for $12.50 per user per month, they also receive premium office suite applications, plus everything listed above.
When breaking those figures down, it takes three and a half years to reach $229.99 based on the $5 per month plan, and more than eighteen months with the $12.50 per month plan.
2. Maintenance and Updates
What else do you get with your Office 365 subscription? Now, you could set up your own Exchange Server and SharePoint Server. However, you’d have to manage and maintain the desktop Microsoft Office software, and install the patches and updates every month yourself. That can be very costly. Or you can get updates included with your Business premium 365, and new features are rolled out to customers regularly. Reducing costs and valuable time your employee’s can be spending building your business.
Ponder that implementing the same capabilities in-house requires servers, network infrastructure, necessary IT personnel to install, manage, update, and maintain it all.
Microsoft now takes all the hassle and worry out of the equation. Updates, patches, and upgrades happen in the background without your employee’s needing to fret about it. When the server crashes, its Microsoft’s problem. When a hard drive needs to be replaced, Microsoft will handle it. Your business receives all the benefits of using Office, without any of the headaches of updating and maintaining it all.
3. Availability
Office 365 is a cloud based application. This means you have access to Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Microsoft Office tools from anywhere you can get a Web connection, and from practically any device–Windows or Mac desktops and laptops, Android devices, iPhones, iPads, other smartphones, and tablets. You also get the option to download Office 365 onto five different devices, so you’ll be able to access these applications from multiple sources.
Every business’ profit from Office 365 will differ, since there are a number of factors involved in calculating the cost of purchasing, installing, configuring, updating, and maintaining your subscription. Overall Office 365 is a solid service, providing fantastic value for your investment. Whether you’re a small business or large corporation, we highly recommend giving it an opportunity to help your business reach its full potential.
