Categories: Articles

Office 365: A More Cost-Effective Option for Business

used with permission from HTS

As you know, moving to the cloud is a popular solution that many small businesses have decided to take action on. If you aren’t a “tech” person, then it can be scary to think of all of your programs or files saved in the cloud, floating in “outer space” where you can’t physically touch it. Believe me, I’ve been there! But, if you start to research your options, moving to the cloud, especially with Office 365 is a smart option that is more cost-effective than the traditional on-premise option for small businesses with more than 1 PC.

When you break it down, for small and medium businesses, Office 365 is an easy choice. I’m sure there are some exceptions, but Office 365 is a great option for most SMBs.

Advantages to Office 365 vs On Premise Exchange

Here are a few reasons to choose Office 365 instead of an on-premise alternative.

Security
Reliability
Compliance
Compatibility
Up-to-date versions
Single sign-on
Exchange Online
Sharepoint Online

Lync Online
Office Web Apps
Updates
Disaster Recovery
Financial Savings
Reduced IT implementation and support effort
IT focus from mundane to impactful

Depending on…

how many computers and devices you want to install Office 2013 on
and which version of Office 2013 you’re comparing to Office 365

…it will take somewhere between one and a half to 20 years for on-premise Office 2013 to become the more affordable choice. For example, to install Office 2013 Professional on 5 machines costs $2,000—or 20 years of Office 365 for the same number of machines!

The only scenario for which on-premise Office 2013 may be the best choice is if you need Office 2013 Home & Student, and only on a single PC. In that case, you can spend the $140 and be done. For small to medium businesses, however, the Office 2013 Professional is the most appropriate version of Office, and multiple machines are almost always necessary.

If you’re interested in knowing more about how your business can save by switching to Office 365, reach out to us!

Bryan Antepara

Bryan Antepara: IT Specialist Bryan Antepara is a leader in Cloud engagements with a demonstrated history of digital transformation of business processes with the user of Microsoft Technologies powered by the team of eMazzanti Technologies engineers. Bryan has a strong experience working with Office 365 cloud solutions, Business Process, Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft Office Suite, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Customer Service. He has the ability to handle the complexity of moving data in and out of containers and cloud sessions, makes him the perfect candidate to help organizations large and small migrate to new and more efficient platforms. Bryan is a graduate of the University of South Florida and is Microsoft Certification holder.