10 Tips for Successful Implementation for Office 365

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Office 365 includes anywhere access to web-based versions of the Office tools you know, plus professional email, web conferencing, file sharing and more. Microsoft provides Office 365 to qualifying nonprofits as a donation through its software donation programme.

Here are our top ten tips for implementing Office 365 successfully.

Remember, it is always worth having an expert available who understands your specific circumstances to help with a smooth transition and can ensure your staff is brought up-to-speed and is working efficiently and as quickly as possible.

  1. Explain the benefits to staff and support them to make the change; local ‘champions’ or a ‘train the trainer’ approach can help staff to make the most of the new features.
  2. Make effective use of OneDrive for offline file access – it is a wonderful tool that allows staff on the road to work easily and effectively as well as eliminating worries about the Internet connection going down.
  3. Ensure your Internet bandwidth and reliability is suitable – Office 365 will place an additional load on your Internet connection.
  4. Consider upgrading Office on your PCs – it is available very cost effectively through your local TechSoup partner.
  5. Use an Office 365 expert to make the transition a success, and to assist with ongoing support if required. Look for a Microsoft partner that is familiar with Office 365.
  6. Consider local storage if you share large videos or quantities of photos to ensure your Internet bandwidth isn’t consumed by these files.
  7. Review your security controls and policies. Storing information in the Cloud has a huge productivity benefit, but it also means your security controls my need to be revised.
  8. Add Active Directory, which can still offer value for organisations with a large number of computers.
  9. Purchase headsets to minimise potential issues during video and audio conferencing by reducing noise in an open plan environment.
  10. Provide online collaboration spaces, which can be valuable for your board members or volunteers, helping them feel truly part of the organisation.

To find out more about Microsoft’s Office 365 donation programme, please visit our Corporate Citizenship page here.