microsoft office 365Are you ready to make the switch?

Why Microsoft Office 365?These days, everyone is talking about the Cloud. Just as we have all

become comfortable with the internet and its incredible capabilities

for both personal and business computing, the Cloud comes along to

claim a stake as the next big thing.

Microsoft has led the way designing software that has powered

business computing from the start of the modern technology

revolution. Its record is there for all to see as one of the world’s most

successful companies.

With the advent of the Cloud, Microsoft is again at the forefront,

providing compelling tools that couple with the incredible potential of

the Cloud to power business growth and efficiency.

Microsoft’s Office 365 is the benchmark in enterprise grade

productivity suites without compromise.

Here’s Why…

For starters, given the widespread use of Microsoft products in offices

and homes already, it makes sense that as you move from in-house

computing to the Cloud you retain software that staff are familiar

with, and any new employees are likely to be familiar with. This

eliminates the need for extensive retraining and ensures that your

files are always compatible with what you have.

But loyalty based on ease of transition should only be a factor if

Office 365 is a good fit for your business. Office 365 offers reliability,

security, and productivity – at less cost than on-premise set-ups.

It provides anywhere access to your familiar Office applications –

plus email, calendar, video-conferencing, and your most current

documents – on almost any device, from PCs and laptops to smart

phones to tablets.

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Office 365 falls into the category of “software as a service” or SaaS,

providing portals and applications for administrators and end-users on a

subscription basis.

It combines the traditional Office desktop suite with cloud-based

versions of next-generation communications and collaboration services:

Microsoft Exchange Online (business-class e-mail, shared calendars and

scheduling); Microsoft SharePoint Online (advanced document storage

and application integration); Microsoft Lync Online (providing presence

availability, instant messaging, and desktop sharing) and OneDrive

(offering up to 1TB of secure cloud storage per user licensed).

What about security?It’s probably the most common question about Cloud computing. Is my

data safe?

You can bank on it. Just as a business has no qualms about its money

being kept in a virtual environment provided by a financial institution,

you can count on your data being safe.

Microsoft recently invested $2 billion in state-of-the-art data centres,

which is tangible evidence of its security efforts. But it doesn’t stop

with the physical barricades. The company employs security-aware

engineering practices for its services and software.

Data is encrypted as it flies back and forth, and stronger levels of

encryption can be added if necessary.

Office 365 provides secure access across platforms and devices, as well

as premium anti-spam and antivirus technologies that are automatically

updated to protect against the latest threats.

The security features and services associated with Office 365 are built-in,

reducing the time and cost associated with securing your IT systems.

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At the same time, Office 365 enables you to easily control permissions,

policies and features through online administration and management

consoles so you can configure Office 365 to meet your specific business

and security needs.

There is no doubt there’s been some scaremongering about security in

the Cloud, but a lot of this is generated by people with a vested interest

in maintaining the status quo — IT departments, hardware suppliers and

any of the army of 3rd party IT professionals who are needed to keep an

in-house server solutions running smoothly.

Traditional IT technicians and departments fear loss of power, control

and jobs if the servers are taken away, and can be highly resistant to

change. But more often than not what happens is that they are released

from a lot of mundane tasks and can concentrate on adding value to

the business.

Compelling reasons to switchWe are seeing a step change with technology infrastructure starting to

be seen as a utility service that is no longer cost-effective to maintain

on-premise. Just like electricity and water, the trend is to pay monthly for

these services at much less cost than continually purchasing, maintaining

and upgrading hardware and software.

The server hardware you buy today could well be out of warranty and

not supported with no availability of replacement parts within 3–4

years. Then you face the waterfall effect of new operating systems

and application software, not to mention any hardware failures and

software updates and back-up along the way and there is the rising cost

of electricity….

Meanwhile, there are more workers on the go, accessing business

information by more platforms than ever before.

And finally, have you budgeted and implemented the right technology

infrastructure for a business realistic continuity plan in case of a natural

or man-made disaster?

Office 365 eliminates all that stress. Your apps, files and data is available

around the clock if you need it, wherever you need it — to close a deal,

organise a meeting, place an order or do some troubleshooting.

In most enterprises, having integrated, on-demand communication and

collaboration solutions streamlines the way people work and can be the

pathway to improved productivity and savings.

And in the event of a disaster, in which your employees are prevented

from getting into your building, they can communicate and access vital

information anywhere there is an Internet connection.

An industry exampleIt’s all very well saying Office 365 offers enterprises a leg-up to the

future. But does it live up to the hype?

Caltex Australia is a leading fuel supplier and convenience retailer in the

Australian market. The company buys crude oil and refined products on

the international market and operates petroleum refineries in Sydney

and Brisbane.

The company employs about 3,500 people, working in every state and

territory in the country. A large, dispersed workforce requires robust,

feature-rich communication and collaboration technologies. However,

until recently, Caltex employees had few tools to connect with their

colleagues and to access the information they need to work efficiently.

While most employees used mobile phones, approximately 10 per cent

of the workforce also had BlackBerry devices. There were no instant

messaging or web conferencing tools. Consequently, employees flew

around the country for monthly team meetings, increasing travel costs

and reducing productivity for staff in transit.

“We were reaching the end of life for our existing solution,” says Steve

Fox, Chief Information Officer at Caltex Australia. “To access email, you

had to be connected to the corporate network, and even though we had

a VPN (virtual private network), it was not very reliable.

“Many employees experienced connectivity issues when out of the

office. And when mail stopped working, it could slow down PCs and

laptops. These issues generated many calls to the help desk.”

Caltex also wanted accommodate employees’ desire to work more from

home and to improve their work/life balance. When Mr Fox tried to help

a colleague who was going on maternity leave to stay in touch with the

business, it was a frustrating experience.

Who is Vita Enterprise Solutions?As part of Vita Group, Australia’s most exciting technology,

communications and electronics provider, Vita Enterprise Solutions

draws on the insight, expertise and know-how generated from 20 years

of servicing the Australian market.

Over this time we’ve built an enviable record of technology and service

delivery. Our strong reputation comes from developing in-house

expertise and aligning with key technology and telecommunications

partners including Telstra and Apple.

We’ll match agile technology outcomes to your business requirements,

simplifying the process for you. From providing the right mobility

solution, increasing collaboration, transitioning to the Cloud or NBN, to

providing hardware and accessory solutions, Vita Enterprise Solutions

will partner with your business to deliver a personalised and fully

integrated end to end solution.

“I realised we had to change how we do things here to achieve our

goals for an agile, productive, and connected workforce,” he says. “We

needed to move away from this whole idea of a workplace being a

‘place’. Our company is too large and Australia is too vast for people to

be tied to a physical location to get their work done.”

In 2010 Caltex set about finding a solution. “We chose Microsoft cloud

services because we wanted a vendor with a proven delivery in the

enterprise space and a very strong product roadmap,” says Mr Fox.

“We also looked at functionality and financials, and Microsoft won

on both accounts.”

“The transition to Office 365 was excellent; it literally happened over

one weekend in August 2012. For the end user, it was a seamless

experience.”

Caltex employees are now using Office 365 to become more

productive in remote locations and urban centres across Australia. The

company can offer employees more flexibility in juggling home and

work commitments. Parents on maternity leave are staying in touch

with the office and can more easily transition back to fulltime work.

“We wanted to give employees mobility and with Office 365 we have

the technology to do it,” says Mr Fox.

An increasing number of employees are using web and video

conferencing and sharing presentation slides and documents in real

time, instead of flying to head office and other regional offices for

meetings.

“Instead of monthly meetings, some people are only flying in every

three month, reducing travel costs by one-third for those who have

cut their traveling,” says Mr Fox.

The move has also empowered Caltex’s IT department. “With our drive

for improving employee productivity and agility, we hoped to raise the

profile of the IT department as more of a business enabler. With Office

365, we have achieved that goal.”