How to do a structured evaluation of Office 365

To enable you to do a structured evaluation of a Office 365 30 day Trial in your organisation, we've published a couple of Trial Guides for you to download. One for Midsize and Enterprises (the E plan) and one for Professionals and Small Businesses (the P plan).

The guides are intended for administrators and technical decision makers in your company who want to gain experience with Office 365 to evaluate better its benefits for your company. They both begin with a review of the services that are available in Office 365, and a description of their capabilities. The rest of each guide is designed to be used as a real-time road map that provides step-by-step instructions to help you understand quickly how to configure your environment, manage your company’s account, and then work with the services that are available in Office 365.

The step-by-step procedures for the E plan trial are grouped into the following scenarios:

  • Scenario 1: Signing Up for a 30-Day Trial
  • Scenario 2: Performing the “Start Here Tasks”
  • Scenario 3: Adding a Custom Domain to Office 365
  • Scenario 4: Managing Exchange Online
  • Scenario 5: Managing a SharePoint Site Collection
  • Scenario 6: Preparing Your System for Office 365
  • Scenario 7: Using Exchange Online
  • Scenario 8: Using SharePoint Online
  • Scenario 9: Using Lync Online
  • Scenario 10: Getting Support
  • Scenario 11: Converting a Trial Account to Paid Subscription

There are differences in capabilities between the E and the P plan that affect step-by-step instructions. Hence the step-by-step procedures for the P plan trial are grouped into the following scenarios:

  • Walkthrough 1: Sign Up and Get Started With Your Office 365 Account
  • Walkthrough 2: E-Mail, Calendar, and Contacts
  • Walkthrough 3: Storing and Sharing Documents With SharePoint Online Team Sites
  • Walkthrough 4: Exploring Office Web Apps and Using Team Sites With Microsoft Office
  • Walkthrough 5: Databases
  • Walkthrough 6: Public Websites
  • Walkthrough 7: Instant Messaging, Video Chat and Online Meetings

 Happy trial