Formerly known as Office 365, Microsoft 365 is a suite of cloud-based productivity apps that can help small businesses stay competitive while keeping costs low. Whether you’re managing a team of five or fifty, Microsoft 365 for small businesses can streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and protect your business from cyber threats.
Beyond the familiar apps like Word and Excel, Microsoft 365 for small businesses includes powerful tools that many organizations don’t fully utilize. Let’s explore the ten most valuable Microsoft 365 features that can give your small business a competitive edge.
1. OneDrive for Business
As the cloud storage solution for small businesses, OneDrive for Business gives teams an easy way to store, sync, and share their files. It even integrates seamlessly with Office Online, enabling users to edit Office documents directly on their web browsers without downloading files or installing software.
OneDrive for Business also boasts security features that keep an organization’s data secure. For instance, users can control who can access and edit their files, as well as set expiration dates for shared links. This capability is especially crucial considering how vulnerable to data breaches small businesses tend to be.
2. Office Online
Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are among the most popular productivity applications in the world. Office Online brings these programs to the web, allowing users to create and edit documents over the internet, without having to install the Office suite locally on their devices.
This web-based approach makes Office Online incredibly useful to small businesses with remote teams or those that need to save on storage space. The real-time collaboration features let multiple team members work on the same document simultaneously, with changes appearing instantly for everyone.
3. Microsoft Planner
Planner lets users create visual task lists, set deadlines, and assign the right person to specific tasks. Instead of losing track of projects in endless email threads, your team can see exactly what needs to be done, who’s responsible, and when it’s due. As a key part of Microsoft 365 for small businesses, it helps ensure that work gets finished on time and within budget.
Planner provides users with a channel in which they can post updates, have discussions, and share resources related to particular tasks. This makes collaboration smoother and helps reduce the need for time-consuming meetings.
4. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams enables users to communicate and collaborate effectively, no matter where they are, making this application essential for remote and hybrid teams. This communication platform goes beyond simple video calls, offering chat channels, file sharing, and integration with virtually every other Microsoft 365 for small businesses application.
Additionally, Microsoft Teams may be combined with other Microsoft 365 components, making it more than a simple communication platform. For instance, it can integrate with Planner, Microsoft 365’s task management tool, to help users keep track of their tasks.
5. Microsoft Outlook
Outlook is Microsoft 365’s email client, and it comes packed with features that can help small businesses manage their emails. By enabling users to sift through their emails and separate important messages from those that are not, Outlook helps create a focused and productivity-boosting inbox.
Outlook also has powerful cybersecurity features. For example, it can warn users about malicious attachments and links, as well as filter out spam emails and potentially dangerous messages. Given that small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted by email scammers than larger businesses, these protections can prevent costly security breaches.
6. Microsoft Defender
Cyberthreats are constantly evolving, so small businesses need an effective security solution that can keep up with the latest threats. Microsoft Defender, Microsoft 365’s security platform, uses cutting-edge technology to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats. It can protect users from malware, phishing attacks, and other malicious content.
Microsoft Defender is also designed to work seamlessly with Office Online. For instance, it can scan Office documents for malware before they are opened. This reduces the risk of small businesses inadvertently infecting their systems with malware from email attachments and downloaded files, making it a critical component of Microsoft 365 for small businesses.
7. Microsoft SharePoint
SharePoint is a secure, centralized location that lets users create, store, and share documents online, as well as track who has accessed and edited them. This is especially useful for small businesses that need to manage large numbers of documents or that have remote teams.
SharePoint also has features that help businesses keep their data secure. For example, it can encrypt documents so that only authorized users can access them. This is particularly important for small businesses in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, finance, and education.
8. Custom Business Emails
Professional email addresses using your domain name (@yourbusiness.com) build credibility and trust with customers. Microsoft 365 for small businesses includes custom email hosting, eliminating the need for third-party email services.
These business emails include the same security features as Outlook, such as spam filtering, malware protection, and phishing detection. You also get ample storage for each mailbox, so you won’t need to worry about running out of space. Plus, the professional appearance of custom emails helps prevent your messages from being marked as spam.
9. Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms simplifies data collection through customizable surveys, quizzes, and polls. Small businesses can use Forms to gather customer feedback, conduct employee surveys, collect event registrations, or create assessment tools for training programs.
Forms automatically compile responses into easy-to-read charts and graphs, or you can export data to Excel for deeper analysis. Real-time results let you monitor responses as they arrive, helping you make timely decisions based on current feedback.
10. Microsoft Copilot
Copilot represents the cutting edge of AI integration in Microsoft 365 for small businesses. This AI-powered assistant helps you draft documents, summarize meetings, analyze data in Excel, create presentations, and compose emails more efficiently.
Rather than replacing human creativity, Copilot accelerates routine tasks and provides starting points for your work. It can draft proposals from your notes, summarize long email threads, or suggest Excel data visualizations based on your content. For small businesses where every employee juggles multiple roles, Copilot’s time-saving features are invaluable.
Maximizing Your Microsoft 365 Investment
Small businesses may not have the same resources as bigger companies do, but they can stay at the top of their game by using powerful solutions like Microsoft 365 for small businesses. Many small businesses only scratch the surface of what these tools can do—the key is proper implementation, training, and ongoing optimization.
If you need help getting started with Microsoft 365 or making the most of its enterprise-grade features, our IT experts at Complete Technology Services will be glad to assist you. Our IT providers can assess your current setup, recommend the best features for your specific needs, and provide training to ensure your team uses these tools effectively.
Schedule a consultation to discover how Complete Technology can help you thrive with Microsoft 365 for small businesses.
