The cloud comes to your workplace

Exciting technology news was recently announced and it could mean saving thousands of dollars for your office.

Apple and Google have been vying for your cloud-based storage needs. The exciting update is that Microsoft, a familiar player is entering the competition. Later this month, Microsoft is expected to unveil its Office 365 service. This productivity platform links together Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online, all for a starting price of $6 per user per month. 

Microsoft Office Online is the suite of products we all have come to know, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Exchange Online is your very own exchange server for email, contacts and calendaring. SharePoint Online is collaboration and document sharing.  Lync Online covers instant messaging, virtual meetings and desktop sharing.

The model has changed from outright purchases of hardware and software to subscription based pricing. Only pay for what you need and have the professionals deal with the server management and updates. This approach will ultimately save companies the money and headaches associated with maintaining on-premises servers and some technology staffing needs. As new versions come to the market you get them, simply by continuing your subscription. 

Now there is a drawback; the most inexpensive of these plans requires everything to be online.  That means no Internet, no access to the software. While this could be a problem for some, the real estate industry has embraced online tools and apps. It does look like you could pay an additional fee to keep a copy of the software on your computer. But even without that, the cost savings and simplicity of this service should make up for some possible service interruptions along the way.  Microsoft has also provided a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee.

For brokers, this could save thousands of dollars in server and software costs. For agents, this could give them a high-end infrastructure for their business needs for a small subscription price every month. Reviews from the beta have been favorable and it’s projected to roll out June 28. It’s worth a look.