There have been many different versions of Microsoft Office released for an equally large number of different operating systems. One of the latest versions is Office 365, the cloud based version of Office aimed at small businesses which replaces Office Live Small Business. It has proven to be a solid product. There is one issue however that businesses need to overcome before they fully migrate to the cloud.

With the release of Microsoft Office 365 last year, Microsoft said that they would not be supporting Office Live Small Business (OLSB) and users would have to migrate over to Office 365. If your company used OLSB, you already know that your website was taken offline and all data was inaccessible as of April 30.

Microsoft hasn’t left businesses without a solution, they offer OLSB users a six-month free trial to Office 365. The major problem with many cloud services emerged at this point however, businesses had to get their data off OLSB and onto Office 365, not an easy feat, especially for small business owners lacking the required technical know-how.

If a small business owner chose to do the migration themselves, Microsoft had a 21 page help walkthrough for the migration process. Any migration is a daunting when you also have to focus on running a business, one with a 21 page document can be downright dreadful.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t use Office 365, it’s a great office suite for small businesses that offers many improvements over OLSB and many businesses have been happy they switched over. The issue is that when it comes to your business and its documents, the migration needs to be done right the first time, no mistakes. How do you ensure this? By contacting us, we will be able to help with your migration, and have you up and running an a newer and better system in no time.

The mobile phone has become an integral part of any business owners tech toolbox. Unlike other systems however, it has remained a largely physical device. Desktops and servers on the other hand have seen virtualization take hold, and businesses benefit from this. Is there a chance that your smartphone could see virtualization applied to its systems? It very well might do.

Traditional smartphones are individual packages. The operating system and user are physically tied to the device. If you think about it, there are really only a few phones out there, and millions of people probably have the exact same one that you do. They differentiate their phones from others by the pictures, apps, videos, etc. stored on the device and the way they have personalized their phones.

Should you lose your phone, that data is likely lost, and you are faced with a potentially high cost to replace it. The two major operating system developers - Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) - have started to implement virtual backup solutions. Your contacts, apps and some personalization settings are backed up to the cloud and connected with a user account. When you enter the account information, you can quickly get the most important information from your phone back.

Combine this with the various cloud storage services that allow users to store their information, pictures, etc., with access from nearly any device. This integration with the cloud has enabled users to rely less on physical devices, and points to a potential virtualization concept: Non-dedicated devices.

The idea of non-dedicated devices is that you can use any device, regardless of manufacturer or OS, to access a system you can call your own. Imagine if your phone runs out of batteries. You borrow a friend's, log in using your username and password and that device instantly becomes personalized to you.

Could this work? There are currently three identifiable virtualization trends that point to non-dedicated mobile devices becoming  a reality:

1. Increasing adoption of cloud services by mobile uses - Many mobile users have cloud storage apps installed on their devices and store some form of mobile related information or data on it. What's more, these apps are cross-platform meaning you can access them on iPhone, Android, Mac or Windows.
2. Heavy personalization of mobile devices - OS developers have started to store more information in the cloud. Google, for example, can store your contacts and basic personalization choices - e.g., wallpaper and apps, pictures, and even your calendar, in the cloud. Make changes on your mobile and you will see these on your computer too.
3. Ability to access whole work systems from a mobile device - There are apps for both Android and Apple devices that allow users to access and control their desktops and work systems directly from phone or tablet. This has decreased the need for users to be chained to their desk just to be able to do work.

It wouldn't be hard for an enterprising company to develop a system that integrates these three, already existing functions into a device. The only major stumbling block we can see is that current OS developers don't necessarily get along all that well. We predict that this virtualization will become a possibility on individual systems (Android and iOS), in the near future, but across systems may take longer.

We'd like to know what you think of non-dedicated devices. Would you use one? Are there any other problems you can foresee? Let us know today.

Survey, poll and voting. Whatever you call it, there’s a good chance that you use these in your office. Whether it’s to ask your employees where to go for lunch, or ask them how you think you should answer an email, they’re an important part of the modern office. Did you know you can use Microsoft 365’s Outlook to conduct these surveys?

Here’s how you can create polls and votes in your emails using Microsoft 365’s Outlook.

1. Open Outlook, and click New Message. If you have an email you’d like to attach a poll to, and forward it to others, open the email and click Forward.
2. Click on Options, located at the top of the window you compose the email in. From the drop-down menu, select Tracking.
3. Click Use Voting Buttons.
4. Choose from the options.

If you choose Custom, you’ll be able to customize the names of the buttons. This is done by:

1. Follow steps 1-4 above, and select Custom.
2. A window called Message Options will open, under Voting and Tracking Options select Use voting buttons.
3. Delete the default names and enter the name of the buttons you’d like to use. Be sure to separate them with a semicolon, with no spaces e.g., Choice One;Choice Two;Choice Three.
4. If you want a read and delivery receipt sent to you, press the two respective boxes below Use voting buttons.
5. Click Close. You’ll notice the buttons show up in the area where you compose your email. Compose the rest of your email, and click Send.

You can review the results by opening the email you sent, usually found in the Sent Items folder on the left-hand side of the Outlook window. In the open email, press the Message tab followed by Show and Tracking. If there haven’t been any responses the Tracking option will be grayed out, and you’ll be unable to click on it.

Being able to include a poll in your emails is a great feature of Office 365 that can be used for many situations. If you’d like to learn how to use other features of Office 365 please contact us.

The cloud has become one of the most talked about technical trends of the past few years, it seems like every company is trying to utilize it. A large number of businesses have developed versions of their software that have cloud elements, like storage. Microsoft is one of these companies, offering a cloud version of their popular Office suite - Office 365. There are some great benefits to using Office 365.

There are four main benefits to using a cloud based office suite like Office 365.

Prevent save disasters. One thing every employee has done is get caught up in their work and forget to save, only to have the program or computer crash resulting in the loss of their work. By using Office 365, changes are automatically saved and synced with the cloud, so if something does happen, you probably won’t lose any of your work.

Access from more devices. As Office 365 is browser based, you can access it on a tablet or smartphone. This means you don’t have to be on your computer to access and edit documents. If you give lots of presentations and have a tablet with a data connection, you could ditch the laptop all together.

Eliminate forgotten documents. It can be embarrassing to show up to an important meeting only to realize that you’ve forgotten an essential document back at the office. If this happens, you can just log into Office 365 and access the document.

More storage. With computers, there’s generally a fixed amount of storage available, when it’s used up, you have to free up space by deleting old files. This can be a problem, especially if you have to keep files and information due to legal requirements. Office 365 has plans that allow your company to have as much storage as you need.

These are just four of the benefits to using Office 365 in your business. If you’re looking to move your office suite into the cloud, or would like to learn more about Office 365, please contact us.

When we use office suites like Microsoft Office 365, we tend to spend a large amount of our time using the mouse to switch between tasks and features. In the interest of making you more productive and it easier to move around the program, Microsoft has introduced a number of keyboard shortcuts, no mouse required.

If you use Office 365, you probably spend a large percentage of time using Outlook. Here are some time saving Outlook keyboard shortcuts. These will work with both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Control + 1: Pressing this will switch to Mail. If you’re using a Mac, press command + 1.

Control + 2: This shortcut will switch to your Calendar. On the Mac press command +2.

Control + 3: This shortcut will open your Contacts. On the Mac press command + 3.

Control + Shift + M: This shortcut will open the compose a new message window. You can press this from anywhere in Outlook. On the Mac press command + Shift + M.

Control + Shift + A: When you press this, you’ll be able to set a new appointment. You can press this from anywhere in Outlook. On the Mac press command + Shift + A

F3: This shortcut will open the search pane. On the Mac you can press command + F3

Control + , or .: With a current message open you can press control + , (comma) to switch to the previous message in your Inbox, or press control + . (period/full stop) to switch to the next message in your Inbox. Pressing command + , or . will do the same thing on a Mac.

Control + Enter: When you have an email message open, pressing these keys will send the email. The Mac shortcut for this is command + return.

F4: If you press F4 Office 365 will close. To close the program on a Mac press command + Q

These are the most common shortcuts for Office 365. If you’d like to learn more Office 365 shortcuts or time saving tips, please contact us.

As we become more technologically advanced, the need for physical interaction is diminishing. More often than not, today’s young managers prefer to meet using technology. Microsoft has caught onto this and has integrated some innovative online meeting tools into their small business software, Office 365.

If you use Office 365 in your company, you can have online meetings through Microsoft’s messaging tool, Lync. Here’s how to start a meeting, and some features that make face-to-face meetings unnecessary.

How to start a meeting In Outlook’s calendar, schedule a meeting and invite the participants. When it’s time for the meeting, simply log into Lync, go to your calendar and select the meeting. You’ll have the option to Join online meeting, click it and the meeting will start. If a colleague is online and you would like them to join the meeting, click on their name and drag them over to the meeting window.

Features you can use during the meeting There are a number of useful things you can do in the meeting including:

• Video calls. If you and the attendees have webcams, you can turn the meeting into a video call by pressing the webcam button beside the attendees’ names.
• Share and share alike. Press Share (beside video) in the meeting window to get a dropdown menu with a number of things you can share with the participants. Say you are going to do a demonstration on your screen, you can share it with the attendees by selecting Main Monitor. You can also share presentations or programs.
• Change the presenter. If an employee would like to show something from their screen, or is going to present something, you can give them presenter status by right clicking on their name and selecting Make a Presenter.
• No interruptions. If one person is presenting, and another has a question, they don’t have to stop the presentation to ask a question, they can simply select IM and type the question. All participants will see it, and the presenter can answer the question when they are finished.

If you’re looking for an alternative to physical meetings, Office 365 has a great set of products that will allow you to do just that. To learn more about Office 365 or any of Microsoft’s other products please contact us, we’re ready to assist you.

Businesses have been using Microsoft Office for years and many users, if polled, would count themselves as experts. Users in their numbers have already adopted Microsoft’s cloud offering, Office 365, as their main office productivity suite. The same features from previous versions are included, not forgetting the option to include electronic business cards in your emails.

Here’s how to create and share an electronic business card:

Create an Electronic Business Card

1. Open Outlook and select Contacts followed by Home. Click on New Contact.
2. When the Contact window opens, press Business Card and the Edit Business Card window will open.
3. You will be able to enter contact information into the relevant areas under the Fields box.
4. If you want to add an image or change the layout of the business card, press the Layout button located in the right side of the screen.
5. When you have entered the information, press Ok and the business card will be saved as a .vcf file which is readable by most email clients.

Add an Electronic Business Card to an Email If you have saved a contact’s information as a business card, you can easily attach the card to an email.

1. In a message select the Contacts pane and search for the business card you would like to attach. When you find it, click it.
2. Select the Home tab, followed by Forward Contact. A drop-down menu will open, select As a Business Card.
3. You will see the business card as an attachment in the email.

Add a Business Card as a Signature You can add a business card to your signature in any email.

1. When you create an email message click Signature and select Add signature.
2. Select the signature you would like to use, if you have one. If not, press anywhere in the white space below Edit signature.
3. Click Business Card beside the paragraph alignment buttons in the Edit signature field.
4. Select the contact name you use and press Ok. Your contact information will show up at the bottom of the email as a downloadable .vcf file.

If you’re a user of Office 365 and would like to learn more, or would like more information on Office 365 or other products, please give us a call.

There are many tools businesses use during their day-to-day operations, but only a few are used by businesses across all industries. One that will be familiar to all is the office suite; comprised of a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software and an email client. The most popular being Microsoft Office, which Microsoft has recently moved to the cloud.

Microsoft’s cloud based office suite for businesses is called Microsoft Office 365. Office 365 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote - and Microsoft Server products e.g., Lync 2010 and SharePoint Server. All programs are accessed via a Web browser, offering users the ability to access the programs from the office, home or anywhere in between.

On March 14, 2012 Microsoft held a press conference announcing that the price of Office 365 subscriptions will be reduced by up to 20%. This decrease will apply to all new and renewing direct customers.

The price cut is a great advantage to many potential customers as it makes Office 365 more competitive with other cloud based office solutions such as Google Apps. This is also beneficial as many businesses already use the desktop versions of Microsoft Office. If they switch to Office 365, employees will be comfortable with the cloud version, as the software is exactly the same as the desktop version.

It’s the perfect time to look into Office 365 and see what it can bring to your organization. If you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Office 365 or other products from Microsoft, we are your go-to experts and will be more than happy to help.

A common trend among new software is in giving users the ability to personalize certain areas. This could be something as simple as adding your picture or changing the layout. Many programs that have traditionally been utility in nature, such as office suites, are starting to offer ways for users to customize. Microsoft Office 365 is one of those such programs offering these features.

Microsoft Office 365 is first and foremost a suite of familiar office software for businesses to use in their day-to-day operations. But just because this software is instantly recognizable as a Microsoft product, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make some small changes to personalize your computing workspace. Here are a few ways you can do just that:

Set Your Profile Picture You can set a profile picture which will show up on any window or application that has the ability to show your image - e.g., Microsoft Lync. To set your picture:

1. Log into Office 365 and go to the Home page.
2. Click the My Profile header. It’s located in the top right hand side of the screen, underneath your name.
3. Click Change Photo.
4. Choose your photo by selecting Browse. It’s recommended that your picture be under 100kb in size, you’ll get an error message telling you if it is any larger. When you have selected your picture, press Save.

Add a Signature to Your Emails Many business emails include a signature at the bottom, a way to make each email seem a little more personal, or provide more information including contact details and a potential message about an upcoming promotion. To set your signature:

1. Navigate to the Outlook page, click on Options. It’s located in the top right hand side of the screen, underneath your name.
2. Click See all options from the drop-down menu that opens.
3. Select My Account, followed by Settings which is located in the left hand menu.
4. Under the Mail Tab, you will have an option to edit your signature. If you want Outlook to automatically place your signature on every outgoing email, click the radio button below the signature that says Automatically include my signature on messages I send.

If you don’t choose to have Outlook automatically add your signature, you can add the signature in your email by selecting the Messages Tab in each new email, and clicking the little arrow below Signature. A list of created signatures will be shown, select the one you wish to use.

Add Your Picture or Logo to Your SharePoint Site If your company uses SharePoint, you can add a logo or picture to enhance what is a relatively plain environment.

1. First, you need to create an image. You can use almost any picture, just ensure you can legally use it. Get creative, this is your space!
2. When you have the image you want to use, open SharePoint, click Site Actions and select More Options.
3. Select Picture Library, and in the window that opens, select a name for a new library, and press Create.
4. Your new Library should be on the left side of the screen. Click to open it and select Upload.
5. When your picture shows up in the library, select it twice, so it’s in its own window. Copy the web address from the top of the page.
6. Under Site Actions select Site Settings followed by Look and Feel.
7. Beside Logo URL and description paste the URL you just copied. Click Ok and your image will show up on your SharePoint site.

With a few steps you can make Office 365 a little more personal. Just be sure that you can legally use the images you select. If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Office 365 or any other Microsoft products, give us a call.

Technology and software: two things many business owners and managers use on a daily basis. The majority of people in business have some knowledge and comfort working with computers, but when the software they are using stops working there’s a “What do I do now?” moment. Does it have to be so frustrating?

The answer is: No, it does not have to be. Microsoft Office 365 is a good example of a suite of programs with a strong background of troubleshooting and support resource data bases. If you have a question or problem while using Microsoft Office 365, there are a number of ways you can get the problem solved.

• Troubleshooting Tool:  This tool should be the first place you look when you have questions or need support. When you go to the page you will asked four questions and presented with links to solutions based on the answers given.
• Office 365 Community: The community, run by Microsoft, provides information on all aspects of Office 365 with the majority of the information being provided by users of the various products. This community also has information on updates and commonly asked questions. It’s a good idea to check with the community to see if there are any other users who have had the same questions or issues as you.
• Office 365 Technical Blog: If you can’t find answers on the Community page, try looking at the Technical Blog. The blog is run by Microsoft engineers and is a direct link to the developers of the product you are using. Any answers to questions on this blog will often be straight from the source with the answers usually being more on the technical side with lots of explanations or update information.
• Tools and Diagnostic Wiki: This is a wiki article that covers products in the Office 365 suite. Think of this as the umbrella section that covers troubleshooting of all issues, while providing you with links and updates related to troubleshooting. You can search issues based on product plan, specific products, services, and more. If you are having a problem not covered by the other resources, chances are you will find the answer here.

With comprehensive coverage and a number of different places to go to when you have questions or a problem, you should be able to get back on track in no time. Please contact us if you would like to know more about Office 365 or any other Microsoft products.