Are you still using a legacy version of Microsoft Office? Are you concerned about the lack of support? The increasingly complicated and expensive licensing solutions?

Are you considering moving to Office 365?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then this post is for you! In this blog, we’ll cover the features and benefits of Office 365—and what to look out for if you want to make the switch. The bottom line is that Office 365 is better for credit unions than sticking with outdated legacy versions.

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Office 365 Brings Cost Savings

Yes, Office 365 can save you money. Bonus feature: the cost savings are the by-product of simplified licensing agreements. It’s a real two-for-one.

Older licensing models for Microsoft’s products were on a per-device basis. Any credit union that had more computers than employees—which is basically every credit union—was essentially paying for more than one license per user.

Moving to a per-user license structure in Office 365 allows one employee’s license to cover multiple devices. Instead of buying three licenses for one user’s desktop, laptop, and home PC, they need only a single license.

Additionally, Office 365 bundles several key functions in its license, including tools like Skype, mail servers, and more. And now, Microsoft has essentially made it more expensive to run your own exchange. Credit unions that make the switch should see reduced mail costs, too.

Increased Credit Union Security

We understand your security concerns about cloud-based platforms. We’ve watched The Terminator series and can imagine a world where Skynet takes over. We’ve also watched Hacker, so we know there’s no such thing as a truly un-hackable system. Most importantly, we’ve watched the evolution of Office 365 for credit unions over the years.

Especially during migration, with critical data moving to the cloud, your security can be a little vulnerable.

We stand by our assertion that Microsoft’s new platform is very secure. Microsoft’s efforts and team of experts have taken every measure to safeguard your sensitive information.

Improved Plugin Support

In the early days, third-party support for Office 365 was weak. Microsoft has been better about working with vendors to enable valuable plugins.

Years ago, getting something like an SSAE 16 PCI compliance was very challenging. Today, both Azure and AWS have nearly every type of audit and control that you can imagine. They feature a significant number of certifications that were lacking in previous years.

If plugin support was holding your back, it shouldn’t hold you back any longer.

Is Office 365 Good for Credit Unions?

Absolutely, yes. The benefits of moving to Office 365 for credit unions are numerous, and the drawbacks are minimal.

The hardest part of moving to Office 365 is the move itself. It can take months to prepare for and execute a move to the cloud. If the logistics of migration are intimidating, you can consider working with a third party to host your Office 365. Hosted solutions cut down on a lot of the legwork required to change platforms.

Check out what hosted Office 365 can do for you here.

Interested in speaking with an Ongoing Operations expert about Hosted Office 365 for your Credit Union? Fill out the short form to the right and we will be in touch!

You may also be interested in this related content:

What are the Benefits of Office 365 for Credit Unions?

What are the Top Security Concerns with Microsoft Office 365 for credit unions?

What Hosted Office 365 can do for Credit Unions