LOOK TO THE CLOUD: Cloud Computing Primer An ebook

LOOK TO THE CLOUD: Cloud Computing Primer An ebook

Contents 1. What Is the Cloud?... Pg. 3 2. What is Office 365?... Pg. 3 2-1. Exchange Online... Pg. 4 2-2. SharePoint Online... Pg. 5 2-3. Lync Online... Pg. 6 2-4. OneDrive for Business... Pg. 7 3. Why Office 365?... Pg. 8 4. Benefits of Office 365... Pg. 9 5. Trust the Cloud Experts... Pg. 10 6. The Migration Process... Pg. 11 6-1. The Interview and Assessment (Pre-Pilot)... Pg. 12 6-2. Step 1 - Pilot Phase... Pg. 12 6-3. Step 2 - Deployment Phase... Pg. 13 6-4. Step 3 - Enhance Phase... Pg. 14 7. Scenario - Cloud vs. On Premise... Pg. 15-17 2

What Is The Cloud? The cloud is nothing new, as you may have been using it ever since you started using the internet; the thoughts behind cloud computing dated as far back as the 1950s. In the simplest form, the cloud refers to programs and resources that are available on the internet for almost any device that has internet access. To get a little more technical, the cloud is essentially a giant network of servers all over the world that provide services to users. If you have used services such as email (Yahoo!, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.), online storage (Dropbox, Google Docs), or even social networking (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn), then you have been using the cloud. What is Office 365? Office 365 is cloud-based productivity, hosted by Microsoft. At its heart is Office itself the familiar, rich Office applications customers use and love - now offered as a cloud service, so it s always up to date. But Office 365 is also so much more. It s about bringing enterprise-grade services to organizations of all sizes, from online meetings to sharing documents to business-class email. We like to talk about it to customers this way: With Office 365, you get the latest Office applications and much more. 3

There are an incredible number of productivity tools that make up Office 365 and you get the latest Office applications and much more. Business-class email: Large, 50GB mailboxes that can send messages up to 25MB in size, with contacts, shared calendars and spam and malware protection that stays up to date. Built with Exchange email technology, the leading email solution for business around the world. Use your own custom domain for your email address, connect with Outlook for fully featured offline support, and access via the web through any modern browser. Available on your PC or Mac, as well as Windows Phone, iphone, Android and Blackberry devices. Benefits to your company: Automatic system patching Access to your mailbox on any device, anywhere Seamless integration with Outlook Management from a simple, easy-to-use Exchange Administration Center (EAC) web interface Ability to enforce policies across mobile devices, such as PIN lock and removal of company data from lost phones. Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam using Exchange Online Protection 4

Collaborate Online, Share Documents, and Work Smarter: SharePoint Online, also included with your Office 365 subscription, is a web-based collaboration and document management solution. SharePoint provides the ability to create multiple internal websites, as well as one public facing internet site for your business at no additional cost or hosting fees. With SharePoint online you can create a basic site in virtually no time; let Microsoft handle the automated maintenance and updates. SharePoint is also extremely secure, as the sites are made for internal use only (unless specified) so you can post company documents and information while still maintaining compliance. Mobile devices and multiple platforms (PC, Mac, Android, etc.) can also benefit from SharePoint online with the use of SharePoint mobile apps. With the mobile app users can connect to the SharePoint site to see the latest posts, view newsfeeds, follow users, send e-mails, and much more. With the use of OneDrive for Business (formerly SkyDrive) users can download an offline version of the site to a folder for offline viewing. With SharePoint Online: Stay in-tune with coworkers and receive updates via the newsfeed Easy document uploading, downloading and sharing via SharePoint document libraries Ability to integrate instant messaging and internal social media sites Extensible platform and extremely customizable Project and workflow management 5

Online Meetings: Hold scheduled or ad hoc online meetings for up to 250 participants, with screen sharing, audio and video, virtual whiteboards, polls and shared notes. Partners and customers can fully participate through any HTML-5 browser. Lync also provides the ability to interface with Skype so that users in the organization, or other organizations, can use Lync or Skype to make calls. Whether you want to create a local or web-based meetings, online presentations using screen-sharing and whiteboards, or just chat to other co-workers, Lync has the ability to provide it all. The best part is Lync is included in your Office 365 subscription. HD video conferencing over the web or locally Integration with Skype Instant messaging for internal use Voice or video calls from PC-to-PC 6

Store, Share and Access Files from Almost Anywhere: OneDrive for Business is a secure file sharing and storage solution provided to each user of Office 365. OneDrive provides you with 25 GB of storage for each user with access to those files anywhere and on almost any device. While all user files are initially set as private, OneDrive users have the ability to control who can see and edit each individual file, as well as the ability to sync files with PCs and mobile devices. Want to upload a document from your computer to OneDrive so you can view and edit it anywhere? Simply click and drag the file to OneDrive and it automatically saves to your profile. Want to share a file with another user? Select the file in OneDrive, select Share, and type the user s name; that user can now view the document. OneDrive makes document storage and sharing easy for your business. 7

Why Office 365? Office 365 is more than just Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Office 365 includes everything available in your current version of office, plus the ability to move your email online using Exchange Online, create a SharePoint site for collaboration and document management, and Lync to provide video conferencing and internal messaging. Not to mention this is all managed from a simple management webpage. With a subscription to Office 365 you can rest assured that your data will be well protected. Office 365 leverages the use of multiple servers to store your data and provide services. This means that if one of Microsoft s servers were to crash you wouldn t even notice, as the same information is stored on multiple servers. On top of this, Microsoft offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee on their services. 8

Benefits of Office 365 Get work done from anywhere: Wherever your people are, online or offline, they can get to and work with the most up-to-date versions of the files and tools they need to get things done. And they can do it on virtually any device. Work better together - simply: Office 365 offers business-class email, shared calendars, IM, web conferencing, and access to the most up-to-date documents stored in the cloud. You can work together in real time without compromising security. Be always up to date: Since Office 365 is in the cloud, it is always up to date. No patches or software upgrades necessary. Microsoft is adding new value and capabilities on a monthly basis. Cut hardware and energy costs: Without servers to run for email, websites and document storage, you can reduce energy costs and save by no longer purchasing new server hardware. Scale your business quickly: Office 365 grows with you - adding a new user is as simple as buying an additional license. License what you need: Office 365 provides many plans to fit the right capability needs and price points for each user in an organization. Reduce your capital expenditure: Office 365 is available as a simple monthly subscription. Avoid large up-front costs for new software while moving the cost of IT from capital to operating expense. 9

Trust the Cloud Experts Here at 3D Corporation we are committed to being the go-to experts in Office 365 cloud services and solutions. We believe strongly in cloud computing as a viable option for small-businesses. When the opportunity came up for us to represent Office 365, we decided to put our process where our mouth was. We moved our own company to the cloud starting with Office 365 before we would even consider recommending it to our clients. We wanted to make sure that the entire process of making this first step into the cloud would be a great experience from beginning to end for our valued clients. And who better to test the process on than the worst critics we could possibly find ourselves? Through that experience we tested, tried and perfected a migration process designed to delight. From having highly trained engineers with experience in designing Office 365 environments for clients, to continuing to provide the outstanding customer service 3D Corporation is known for, you can rest assured your transition to the cloud will be seamless. 10

ABOUT US 3D Corporation is the most trusted business technology partner and leading source of IT support to small- to medium-sized businesses in Northwest Washington. In business for over 20 years, 3D Corporation is the largest comprehensive IT consulting company north of Seattle. 3D Corporation Headquarters are located at 2103 Grant Street in Bellingham, WA. For more information about 3D Call (360) 671-4906 Email info@3dcorp.us www.3dcorp.us. 11