If you are thinking about adopting Microsoft 365, make sure you are aware of the pitfalls and the ways to avoid them.
In this article I'll explain what to look out for, so you can adopt and use Microsoft 365 to its full potential.
Are you thinking about switching to Microsoft 365? Well, that's a great idea! Working with Microsoft 365 offers many benefits such as: improved collaboration, flexibility, included updates and more.
There are however a few things to look out for when making the switch. I have gathered for you, five pitfalls to be aware of and ways to protect your business against these.
1. Migration
Migrating to a Microsoft 365 environment may seem straight forward. However, it requires time, knowledge and good communication between the involved stakeholders. Your business wants to keep all their existing data safe and available in their new Microsoft 365 environment.
Make sure you have people with knowledge and experience to take on this project. If you don’t have this in-house, no problem! An experienced partner can assist you and migrate your data safely and well-planned.
2. Governance
Questions we often receive from customers that are making their next steps in the Microsoft 365 environment are: "How do you scale & maintain Teams & Microsoft 365"? "How do you make a productive environment"? And, "How do you prevent ending up with an environment that provides user frustrations because of a wild spread of Teams, SharePoint & multiple locations where information could have been located"?
Working with an IT partner that has a vision on governance of Microsoft 365 can help you overcome these challenges, and fine-tune your approach to your different needs.
3. Continuous end-user training
The Microsoft 365 platform is constantly evolving and constantly brings new and amazing features to the table. Did you know that new Microsoft 365 updates are released each month? As a result, not training your employees to master these features can lead to wasted potential when implementing this platform.
If your business wants to maximize return on investment for Microsoft 365, continuous organized training sessions for employees are worth it. That's why a partner who can keep your IT staff up to speed on a regular basis represents a lot of added value.
4. Preservation of your data
Contrary to popular belief, your data isn’t totally safe in the Microsoft cloud, and Microsoft is not responsible for a customer’s data. Accidental deletion and ransomware attacks are two common risks that are very common today. Compliance regulations may also require your business to have all your data backed up securely. Using a third party software like Veeam Backup for Office 365 can solve these issues and keep your company’s data safe.
Need advice or help setting up Veeam Backup for Office 365? An experienced partner can assist you!
5. Security
Using Microsoft 365 is often an important step for companies in remote working and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies. This leads us to endpoint protection, a hot topic in IT security. Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly known as Intune) can help you face this challenge. With endpoint protection you can define a minimum-security threshold for BYOD devices, enforce security policies or force your business data to be stored in encrypted containers. Endpoint protection also helps you deploy and control your own clients, and act when security threats have been detected.
Some Microsoft 365 subscriptions like Microsoft 365 E5 include lots of security features. If you want to be even more protected, take a look at next-gen endpoint protection software like SentinelOne.
Review your IT security procedures, endpoint protection software and create security awareness in your workforce!
We've already published an article on the subject. Re-read it here.
Every problem has a solution
Don’t get scared off because of these pitfalls! There are solutions available for every pitfall listed and the benefits are still well worth the challenges. Microsoft 365 is a powerful platform that can take a company’s daily tasks and activities to the next level.
Want to hear how EASI can help? Get in touch!
