As part of the global launching of Microsoft 365 Business, the product has now arrived on the shores of Australia and New Zealand.
Microsoft 365 Business is a single-solution package including Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility plus Security. This provides businesses the necessary smart tools to empower their employees and grow their businesses.
According to the technology giant, some Australian customers have already signed up for Microsoft 365 Business. Additional interest towards the product is expected from small and medium businesses, especially those around the size of up to 300 employees.
According to Ian Heard, General Manager for Microsoft’s Digital Workplace and Collaboration, the company has conducted market research that revealed the product is ideally suited to address the increasing demand of workplace digital excellence. There is a growing trend of companies shifting away from the reliance on an in-house IT professional. He also added Microsoft 365 business is an all-inclusive solution suitable to facilitate the growth of small to medium businesses, while also providing required security measures to protect company and customer data.
One of the new customers of the Microsoft product package is Basketball Australia, which is in charge of the Women’s National Basketball League. The organisation also runs the South East Australian Basketball League, as well as national teams and junior competitions.
According to Anthony Moore, CEO of Basketball Australia, Microsoft 365 Business allows real-time information access and updates while the basketball teams are travelling to different places through a range of time zones. Both internal and external communication will be made more efficient, as Windows 10 and Office 365 can be assessed on different devices, thus standardising all processes in the organisation. The product therefore creates an efficient collaboration platform to serve all stakeholders and distributed workforces.
Microsoft also commissioned YouGov to conduct research on the ways Australian Small and Medium Businesses manage IT aspects of their daily operations. The study shows that in many cases, an unofficial IT manager is often appointed to tackle problems when they occur. The research also shows an average of four hours per week of this IT person’s time is used on this purpose, while 63% of workers also admitted to having to deal with IT issues on top of their daily work.
The YouGov study went on to reveal 9 out of 10 workers consider it important to have the ability to handle daily technology problems without the help of professionals. This is bad news for actual IT experts, due to the growing consensus official IT support should be phased out in the modern workplace.
In total, 87% of the researched group indicated it is essential to improve data security for company networks, hardware and all communications. Another 76% of the workers think their company mobile devices need to be provided with enhanced security.
Microsoft is constantly improving its services to serve its global customers. For advice on how Microsoft products can be integrated into your business, contact WM Reply today for a friendly and informative session with our team.