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Microsoft Office 365

By Steven J. Mulka
SIS Software, LLC.

Many construction companies have moved their Exchange server to the cloud under the Microsoft Office 365 program in addition to licensing Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Office historically has been licensed by companies in one of three ways:

1. Purchased under an OEM license from Microsoft when you purchase a computer. Dell, for example, has been offering Microsoft Office as an option when you purchase the computer and this has been a popular and simple way that many companies have purchased Office. The downside to this license option is that the software is licensed for the purchased computer with no options to upgrade or move to another computer.
2. Purchased under one of the many of the Microsoft business license options such as Open Value, Open Business or Enterprise Agreement. Many of these licenses include software assurance that allows companies in a certain timeframe to upgrade to newer versions.
3. Purchased off the shelf as a retail product.

One of the challenges for IT departments has been to find the right timing of when to purchase new software licenses and/or upgrade all the users to the next version. Many companies have a mix of new and older software versions which creates training and standardization problems. Office 365 alleviates this problem with the changes in the Microsoft licensing model to a "pay as you go" or Software as a Service, SaaS model. Under the SaaS model, companies pay for the type of license they use and the total number of users on a monthly or annual basis. These fees are due as long as a company is using Office 365.

There are numerous packages available and companies should have a clear understanding of the differences between each of the options before making a purchasing decision. Many of the packages offer a free 30-day trial which allows the opportunity to work with the products to gain a better understanding of how the solution works.

Table 1 below highlights the basic bundled plans that are offered by Microsoft. In addition to these bundles, companies can also choose to license products such as Office, SharePoint, Lync, and Exchange separately under the Microsoft Office 365 licensing model.

Table 1: Office 365 Options
(For additional details please visit http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365)

1. Exchange Online: Microsoft Hosted Exchange Server. For companies looking to simplify their email management, this option moves the Exchange server to the cloud on a per user/per month cost. Companies who are currently licensed for Microsoft Outlook can transition off older Exchange software or hardware and immediately take advantage of the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server. All licensed users can access their email over the web using the Microsoft Outlook Web Client, OWA. Exchange online allows the use of your current domain and email addresses, making this option the easiest and most cost effective way long-term of providing email to all of your employees.
2. Microsoft Office Web Applications: Office Web Apps is Microsoft Office running from a web browser in the cloud. There are differences between using office in a web browser versus a full client on your PC so users need to test the functionality of the Office Web Apps to understand these differences. One good area to use the Microsoft Office Web Apps is for your field users who normally view or make some edit changes but are not power users creating new information.
3. SharePoint Online: The SharePoint functionality differs between the different bundles and needs to be reviewed in detailed dependent on what is important to a company. Companies looking for the full-featured hosted SharePoint should choose the SharePoint Online or the E3 plan. SharePoint Online provides the Enterprise Level CAL of SharePoint 2010 Server.
4. Microsoft Lync: Microsoft Lync is the collaboration component of the Office 365 Suite. Included in the Lync client is instant messaging, (IM), video and phone calls with other Lync users, online meetings similar to GoTo meeting and other web conferencing software.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN THE BUNDLES
Exchange Online

• If running an older version of Exchange or older hardware, this is the easiest way to update to the latest Exchange Server and eliminate the hardware and software cost associated with Exchange server.
• Migrating users from your current Exchange server to the cloud requires a few easy steps.

Small Business P1

• A good option for small businesses with less than 50 employees, who do not want to manage software and hardware in-house, and have limited Microsoft Office power users. P1 can be combined with the traditional methods of purchasing Office with a PC to have the full capabilities for power users. It also provides an easy way to setup an external facing company website and simple file sharing via a SharePoint team site.
• The setup and files cannot be upgraded to any of the more powerful plan or features. This option should be tested first in a 30-day trial by companies considering the P1 plan to ensure that it fulfills the requirements of the business before committing to this option.

Midsize to Enterprise E1

• This option offers limited capabilities and would be best suited for companies with a predominately large number of remote users who view Office-related data such as Word and Excel.

Midsize to Enterprise E3

• This bundle is the strongest plan for companies that are looking to move into a hosted Exchange offering and like the pay-as-you-go pricing model for Microsoft Office.
• Provides a full copy of Microsoft Office Professional with Media that can be loaded on up to five devices of a licensed user.

Microsoft Office Professional Plus Online $12 per month per user
One overlooked licensing option for companies with less than 50 employees requiring the full version of Microsoft Office is Microsoft Professional Plus Online. Under this license model, users get a full copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus to load on their computer. Instead of purchasing the software, users pay a monthly or annual fee for their Office licenses. For companies that upgrade their computers on a three-year life cycle, they will find a cost benefit by moving to the Office 365 license model.

SharePoint Online $4 per user per month
For companies that would like to use the power of SharePoint but may not want to manage and maintain the associated hardware and software related to SharePoint server, SharePoint online provides the Enterprise SharePoint server functionality hosted by Microsoft under this option.

WHERE TO START
The Microsoft website, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365, outlines all of the licensing options available. Numerous other websites offer additional insight, details and experience on Office 365. A recommended approach for making decisions on moving to the cloud is to create a committee that comprises end users, IT and management. This committee should review and act on the following items:

1.) What software is the company running that comprises the Office 365 solution?
2.) What are the current versions, number of users, and how is it being used?
3.) What are the company's software purchasing policies related to new versions and licensing?
4.) What is the company's IT strategy related to cloud computing for the next three to five years?

Once a strategy has been developed a pilot program can be started with one of the 30-day live trial options to ensure the required features and functionality are a good fit for the organization. Make sure that the team has dedicated time during the live trial period for testing and reporting their results. So many times we see companies sign up for 30-day trials and not dedicate the resources to proper testing and evaluation which defeats the purpose of the trial.

SUMMARY
Office 365 provides today’s contractors with new licensing options and can reduce the costs associated with the purchase of new hardware, software versions and maintaining these systems. Many companies like the option of paying overtime versus the initial upfront investments in both new servers and software. Lastly, Office 365 solves the problem of maintaining current versions of the software as it is always the most current version and updated by Microsoft versus having internal or external resources performing these functions.

Microsoft is investing in the Office 365 solution stack and companies should have a strong understanding of how best to leverage this new software licensing model and functionality. Take a quick rocket trip to the cloud today and see how the view looks from 30,000 feet.

Steven J. Mulka is a founding partner of Microsoft Dynamics Gold Certified Partner SIS Software, LLC. He has over 19 years of experience in providing financial and operational software solutions to support the A/E/C industries. Mulka is also the product manager of the SIS Compass product providing a preconfigured SharePoint solution for project management built on Microsoft SharePoint technology. He can be reached at smulka@sisn.com and you can learn more about SIS Software at www.sisn.com.