Which Office 365 Collaboration Tools Make the Most Sense for You and Your Team?

Learn more about the variety of Office 365 collaboration tools that are available with your Office 365 subscription.

If you’re already using Office 365, or you’re investigating migrating you and your team over to this cloud-based platform, you’re likely aware of the wide array of tools and services that are available. The sheer number of products and services that are available through the platform can be intimidating, which is why we’ve put together a simple guide to showcase a few of the tools we’ve found to be the most beneficial for organizations looking to boost collaboration.

Top Office 365 collaboration tools to boost collaboration among your team

The cloud offers a unique way for organizations to stay productive through increased collaboration thanks to a variety of Office 365 apps and tools, a few of which include:

Mobile Office Products

Thanks to Microsoft’s cloud centered approach to its Office suite of applications, users now have access to mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. This means that you can edit and view documents on any mobile device, as well as through any web browser. This allows for individuals to access and edit important documents securely, even on machines that may not have desktop versions of Office installed.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a relatively new, chat-based collaboration tool that’s hosted completely in the cloud. Users can chat with colleagues, share files, and collaborate via video chat thanks to tight integration with Skype for Business. Teams allow organizations to intuitively organize chats as well as control whether conversations are viewable by your entire team, or by just a few select individuals.

Microsoft Teams also tightly integrates with other Office 365 apps as well as third-party applications such as Trello, GitHub, and Hootsuite to name just a few. This allows you to get automated updates from the apps that you use every day without ever leaving the Teams interface.

Microsoft Teams can be accessed via any web browser; through custom apps for Windows and Mac computers; and on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices.

Skype for Business

Skype for Business has been around for quite some time, but as more organizations have begun to leverage the power of distributed workforces, its uses have continued to expand. Below are just a few of the features available through Skype for Business:

• Instantly have video meetings with as many as 250 people at one time.
• Meetings can be set up and joined from any PC or Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
• Share your screen and even give control to others in the meeting if necessary.
• Integrated virtual whiteboard that multiple people can utilize as if they were in the same room.

SharePoint Online

With SharePoint Online, organizations of all sizes can create and manage their corporate intranet to host important documents, announcements, and promote collaboration among team members. Combine this with mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows mobile devices, and users can access their SharePoint intranet from anywhere.

SharePoint also tightly integrates with OneDrive, which allows all your data to be securely stored in the cloud, complete with eDiscovery and DLP capabilities.

Ready to get started with Office 365?

If you’re intrigued by any of the Office 365 apps listed above, it’s important to realize that this is only a preview of a large number of tools that are at your disposal with an Office 365 subscription. To learn more about any of the Office 365 tools, feel free to reach out to the experts at MessageOps.