In the current fast-paced business landscape, organisations of every size are constantly seeking solutions to help enhance their productivity, improve internal processes, and bolster the security of their digital systems. One such solution, which has transformed the way over 2.5 million businesses operate in the last 10 years alone, is Microsoft 365. More than just a suite of applications, Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution for businesses, supported by Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure and designed to streamline workflows, improve communication, and strengthen cybersecurity.
Whether you are a startup, SME, or large enterprise, Microsoft 365 offers a range of different benefits which could make it the ideal technology solution for your business.
1. Seamless collaboration and communication
One of the standout features of Microsoft 365 is its collaboration and communication tools, which enable teams to work together efficiently regardless of whether they’re in a single office location or spread across a remote working environment.
Microsoft Teams offers organisations a single application for virtual meetings, internal chats, file sharing, and project collaboration. With capabilities for threaded conversations, video conferencing (including options to record and transcribe meetings), and a range of third-party integrations for everything from polls to bucketed workflows, Microsoft Teams helps to reduce communication barriers and allows employees to collaborate with each other in real time.
Meanwhile, SharePoint and OneDrive allow organisations to adopt a smooth, centralised, system to store, share, and collaboratively edit documents. SharePoint acts as an organisation’s internal hub for content management, while OneDrive ensures secure personal cloud storage, empowering employees by allowing them to access files from any signed-in device.
2. Robust security and compliance
Cybersecurity threats are a growing concern for businesses of every size, and Microsoft 365 provides advanced security features through Azure to protect sensitive data.
This includes Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to help defend businesses against cyber threats such as phishing, ransomware, and malware attacks. Microsoft’s ATP uses AI-driven analysis to more efficiently and accurately identify suspicious activity and prevent security breaches before they occur.
With Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Conditional Access options supported by Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory, businesses can also enforce stricter access policies using Microsoft 365, helping to ensure that only authorised or approved users can access company resources.
Microsoft 365 also supports compliance and global regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. With built-in tools including Compliance Manager, businesses can manage legal and regulatory requirements more efficiently, and can uphold any accreditations that may be mandatory for their industry.
3. Business intelligence and data analytics
More and more organisations are looking to leverage data-driven decision-making, and Microsoft 365 offers a range of business intelligence and data analysis tools to help them do this.
Power BI enables businesses to turn raw data from Azure data storage into actionable insights by creating intuitive and interactive dashboards and reports. With Power BI in place, executives and managers can make better-informed decisions based on real-time analytics.
In addition, Microsoft Excel - a staple application within the Microsoft 365 suite - also includes advanced data analysis features including Power Query, Power Pivot, and AI-driven insights. These powerful tools make it easier than ever for businesses to analyse large datasets, as well as automate reporting tasks that do not require a Power BI dashboard. By empowering decision-makers with enhanced data insights, Microsoft 365 can help businesses grow and reach their internal goals more efficiently than ever.
4. Enhanced productivity with AI-powered tools
Microsoft are well-established as a global leader in Cloud AI Development, according to Gartner. As result of the wider corporation’s innovation in the AI space, Microsoft 365 offers a wide range of AI-powered tools to help improve the productivity and efficiency of business operations.
Chief amongst these tools is Copilot – Microsoft’s generative AI LLM, and a key competitor to both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Copilot has been seamlessly integrated within Microsoft 365, allowing users to leverage AI-powered suggestions and automations within Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Another AI-powered tool within Microsoft 365 is Power Automate, which enables businesses to automate workflows across multiple applications. This helps organisations to reduce manual workload and enhance their efficiency through automatic approvals, feedback collection, and even social media post scheduling.
5. Scalability and cost-effectiveness
Microsoft offers a range of different pricing plans for Microsoft 365 and Azure, allowing businesses to choose a licence that best-fits their needs and budget. Whether you require just the essentials, or you need advanced enterprise-level capabilities, Microsoft 365 also offers the flexibility to scale with your company as it grows, making it an ideal long-term business solution.
Due to Microsoft 365 being a cloud-based solution, businesses can also gain an added cost-saving benefit by reducing reliance on hardware. Furthermore, IT teams can more efficiently handle software updates and data backups through Microsoft’s foundational Azure cloud infrastructure, reducing the cost of ongoing IT support for internal systems.
How to save on your Microsoft licencing costs
By purchasing your Microsoft licence through a certified Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP), like Blue Frontier, you can unlock significant cost savings compared to purchasing directly through Microsoft themselves. At Blue Frontier, we can also provide additional cost saving benefits to your business, including running licencing health checks which have identified further savings opportunities for over 80% of our clients who use Microsoft products.
We offer flexible billing options to help with your financial planning, and have a purpose-built portal to empower our Microsoft 365 clients to handle their own licensing needs. We also provide holistic IT support, covering everything from cloud consultancy and migration to ongoing support and maintenance. By choosing us as your IT partner, we will be your one-stop shop for all things Microsoft, helping to ensure your technology strategy aligns with your business goals.
Get in touch to find out more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft Azure is the foundational cloud infrastructure (IaaS and PaaS) on which Microsoft 365 operates to deliver ready-to-use end user applications (SaaS). Both services use the Azure Active Directory for user management, but Azure can also be used by businesses to build custom applications that may integrate with Microsoft 365. The two services can also work together for data storage, with Microsoft 365 data being stored on Azure’s cloud storage to support greater scalability in secure data management.
Azure may be included in a Microsoft 365 license subscription, or businesses can have Azure as a standalone license without Microsoft 365.
Yes. You can still have full admin control over your Microsoft 365 tenancy and Azure subscriptions.
Yes. We will first need to undertake a review of your environment to understand if there are areas that will not easily move, e.g. Backup Vaults and Express Route. We then schedule some engineering time to move you to the new subscription. We aim to achieve this without loss of service. We would also discuss options for items that are not so easily moved between Azure subscriptions.
We will invoice you monthly (unless you require annual billing). We get invoiced indirectly from Microsoft on a monthly basis for all the CSP spend attributable to our customers. We just take this data and generate a bespoke invoice for your specific spend.
Yes. You will need to agree to the Microsoft Cloud Agreement.
Yes. SQL Server, Windows Enterprise and User CALs are available through CSP. This gives the customer the ability to utilise Hybrid Use Benefit to run services on premises or in the cloud.
Yes. You are free to transfer to any other provider of your choice, but we hope our people-centric approach and focus on your user experience, alongside other services we deliver, are good reasons to stay.
Yes. If you have a monthly subscription term you can enter in any month of the calendar year and stop at any time. Remember, CSP gives you the flexibility to alter your subscription, in numbers and services, per month.
