Changing Your Email Address?

Changing your email address is never fun, but in certain circumstances it is a necessary evil. If you ever need to make a change, there are several things you need to consider. Follow this checklist to ensure you don’t lose data, keep up with your old contacts, and avoid security risks. Continue reading

Do I Need to Backup My Microsoft 365 Data?

Backup testing

Many business tools are moving to the cloud and one popular option is Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365). The M365 platform consolidates Excel, Word and PowerPoint with collaboration and communication tools such as email and file sharing. Continue reading

Stop Your Inbox Insanity: Tips for Better Email Management

Smart email management

A staggering 269 billion emails are sent out every day and in 2018 the typical employee received 90 emails and sent out 40 emails per day!

Email is a powerful tool and helps get business done even faster. but it adds a lot of pressure to business owners and employees. Here are six strategies to help with better email management. Continue reading

Keeping Control of Your Business with Office 365

Office 365Office 365 (or O365) represents a shift in the way businesses and IT operate. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you schedule a demo with us ASAP. While it is similar to the Microsoft Office desktop package that businesses have used for decades; Office 365 does even more. It provides the critical tools you need to modernize your business environment, take control of your business and brings corporate grade functionality to your business at a low price.

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3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Have Office 365

Office 365

Microsoft Office has been THE office suite for over a decade, whether it is for business or home usage. Other applications have come and gone, but it is expected that most people will be doing their work in Word, Excel, Outlook or PowerPoint. While many people have their favourite versions of Office, here are three good reasons you should upgrade to Office 365.

1) It is more accessible

Office 365 operates both locally on your computer and in the cloud – which means you can use your Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook from anywhere. This means no more forgotten homework, files you can’t access until you get to work or lost documents. They are all ready and waiting in the cloud, wherever you are.

Another benefit is that the barriers between Mac and PC versions have been erased. It runs on both platforms and on any device – even iPhones, iPads, Android, tablets and many other smart devices. A hefty allocation of cloud storage comes with it too, in the form of OneDrive. Many people have started using their OneDrive to store all of their important data. If needed you can even securely share your files with a simple link, and always have complete control over who sees what.

2) It is more affordable

Previously, there was a large upfront cost per computer and you were stuck with that version until you forked out extra money for an upgrade. For people with more than one computer in their office, this was a very expensive way to obtain software. Office 365 has no large upfront costs, no matter how many computers or devices you need to install it on. It is a small monthly subscription, with no contracts. Depending on your location (as pricing differs across countries), you can have five Office 365 licenses for a whole year, for less than the cost of your previous version.

3) It is always up to date

You are always rocking the latest version of Office. You are not stuck with the one you paid for years ago, like Office 2007, 2013 or 2016. Office 365 is always the very latest. If you are still using an older version, you will be surprised by how much Office has evolved over the years. Gone are the annoying helpers, tacky looking clipart and templates and confusing buttons. Everything is intuitive and easy to use, so you no longer need to take classes or tutorials on how to work it. Even the jargon has been stripped out in favour of human-speak so you can get your tasks done faster. With the latest features, your files also take on a whole new level of professionalism. Plus, any updates, upgrades or patches happen automatically, so whatever benefits Microsoft adds is included in your Office immediately. In the past, when you upgraded your Office version it was often a drama and left your files in a mess. Switching to Office 365 is like a breath of fresh air in this regard, as it’s essentially a sign up and go situation. Older files remain intact, your hard drive doesn’t get cluttered, and you are up and running in minutes.

With Office 365 there is also a home and a business version. In this article we have only talked about the actual software side of Office 365. Depending on which version of Office 365 your purchase, you may also get many other benefits including:

  • Exchange based mailbox.
  • OneDrive & Sharepoint (online file sharing).
  • MS Teams (collaborative tool)
  • Skype for Business (communications tool).
  • MS Planner.
  • MS Staff Hub.

Plus Microsoft is adding extra functionality every few months.

It’s a popular option for good reason as with Office 365 you are essentially getting more while spending less. The fact that it’s always available, always the latest version and works anywhere is reason enough to make the switch. The included security features also mean you are at less risk of cyber-attack It really is a stress-free solution, saving you both time and money.

Switch to Office 365 today- contact us on 08 8326 4364 or su*****@dp*********.au

Office 365 & Email Security

Spam email

As an IT Expert, I get client calls and emails asking me about various emails they receive and whether that particular email is fake or real – almost all time the emails are fake.

To help my clients and others in a similar situation I’ve put together a video that goes through some security tips on how to protect your self from hackers and phishing attempts. The video goes through:

  • First alerts of being attacked.
  • How scammers and hackers try to fool you.
  • How to tell if an email is fake or not.
  • The Do’s and Don’ts.
  • How to tell if you’ve been hacked.
  • What to look for after you have been hacked.
  • How to prevent and protect from hackers.
  • What is 2-step and MFA?
  • What to do after you’ve been hacked.
  • Screenshot examples of phishing emails.

Check out the video below and leave any comments in the fields below.

Is It Worth Having Your Email Server On-Premises?

Cloud Email

There’s not a business around that doesn’t use email on a daily basis. Whether for sending internal memos or communicating with clients and customers, email is a core necessity of all modern businesses. What many modern businesses are doing though, is dropping the in-house email server and moving to a cloud solution. Here’s why you should do the same.

Reduced network problems

Computer network operates in a delicate balance and when one piece breaks chaos follows. Connected systems and processes tend to fail, productivity drops as all focus shifts away from normal activities. It becomes a mad scramble to get the network up again, especially the email servers (the last thing you want is for all your client/customer emails to bounce back!). While it’s good to have confidence in your current computer guru, the assumption that any crashes will always happen when they are available has caused many regrets and panicked phone calls that could have been avoided. When you move to a cloud solution, you’re able to say goodbye to onsite servers and all the accompanying drama, making your remaining infrastructure easier to maintain.

Lower hardware and maintenance costs

Maintaining your exchange servers is costing a tidy sum from hardware repairs and license fees alone. Add in the cost of scaling your server to keep up with your business growth, and suddenly keeping your email in-house doesn’t make financial sense. Instead, consider what it would be like to have predictable costs for your email hosting that covers everything, including the latest technology and round the clock administration. Many solutions offer on-demand plans, so you only pay for the options you want.

You’re still in control

One of the main arguments for keeping your Exchange server on premise is to make sure you have complete control over your email; you’re able to limit physical access, no 3rd party has access to your critical data, and you always know where your data is. While control may have been the deciding factor in the past, the fact is cloud solutions have evolved so much that these arguments are void. Physical security at one of Microsoft’s data farms, for example, goes far beyond that of your locked server room and digital access is strictly limited to those you specify.

Greater protections

Cloud solutions provide automatic protection against many threats, including fire, power outages, viruses and flood. While your own in-house server has anti-virus running and a backup plan, it’s still incredibly vulnerable. Backups get forgotten, virus definitions don’t get updated in time, and you’re very lucky if your own server can survive a fire or flood. Moving your email hosting to a cloud solution removes all that risk, usually with an uptime guarantee that lets your business get on with essential tasks. As email is a critical tool for your business, isolating your systems from risk may be one of the best decisions you make all year.

Spam and Virus Filtering

With thousands or even millions of spam and virus emails hitting servers every day moving your email to the cloud relieves the stress and load of filtering and managing these emails from your local server. It also frees up your internet line by stopping the junk from even reaching your offices as they are stopped dead in their tracks in the cloud.

If you need further help with your email server needs, call us today on 08 8326 4364 or via email at su*****@dp*********.au.

7 Benefits of Office 365

Office 365You have probably seen all the advertising for Office 365. They are popping up when you surf the web and your employees are bugging you to upgrade and improve their productivity. You may have even done some research and checked out what all the fuss is about but is Office 365 a necessary upgrade for your small business? The answer is yes. It is much more than just hosted email and includes many more tools to improve your productivity. Here are 7 reasons you may not of thought of why small business owners should upgrade now.

1. Data security is built in
Office 365 is designed with data security at its core. The built-in compliance and security protocols mean your storage is safe in the cloud and you can control access.

2. Ditch the licensing drama
Software version differences are a real nightmare in small offices. Not every system can do the same things or even open the same files. It quickly becomes a hodge-podge of workarounds and time is lost trying to find keys that came when you bought your computer years ago. Office 365 includes site-wide licenses with upgrades at the same time. All your licenses are in the same place and you can easily upgrade and also downgrade the number of licenses when required.

3. Mail storage for real people
Most people leave messages in their inbox forever. Occasionally they may do a quick clean up but that doesn’t happen often. With Office 365, your employees can communicate without worrying about storage space.

4. Better time management
Every person in your business is busy – they are juggling meetings, emails and contacts – usually across multiple platforms (computers in the office and at home, tablets and smart phones). Office 365 combines all those elements and integrates them seamlessly for more efficient time management. Contacts that are updated via users mobile phones are automatically updated across all connected devices. Meetings scheduled in an email are added instantly to the calendar. You can even access files from any device, edit them on the run and then back in the office, simply pick up where you left off.

5. Predictable costs
Forget about planning for costly software upgrades as the monthly subscription model of Office 365 has you covered. You can choose a plan based on your unique needs and change it at any time. You can even add or decrease the number of users as you scale and streamline. For a low monthly cost it is now so easy to fit Office 365 into your budget while knowing you now have the same functionality that previously only the big corporates could afford.

6. Work on the go
The days of fiddling with settings are over. Thanks to Office 365 you don’t even need any special IT skills or extra software. Users can now securely access their files from home, during their commute, or in meetings. An internet connection is all your staff will need to squeeze extra productivity out of every day.

7. Stay up and running with little downtime
A whopping 25% of small businesses shut down permanently after flood, fire, crash or cyber-attack. With Office 365, all your data is stored in the cloud. No matter what happens, your data will be there and as long as you have an internet connection your data is always available.

If you are ready to take your productivity to the next level contact us on su*****@dp*********.au or on 08 8326 4364.