How to Avoid Office 365 Deployment Pitfalls

Cloud computing removes the IT or Information technology burdens from your IT department like running internal servers. Thus, your whole IT department can focus on back-end tasks. Microsoft Office 365 is one of the best cloud solutions that can actually decrease the workload of your IT department. But, you have to implement it correctly. If you are using a cloud solution without addressing important IT considerations, then you can face various technology complexities and limitations.

Before deploying Office 365, you must develop a deployment strategy. Your team must have sufficient knowledge about what to expect during the adoption and implementation process. You should do adequate preparation before moving your data to Office 365. There are many potential pitfalls that can happen during the migration process. You need a good plan for a smooth migration process and for creating a non-disruptive and cohesive end-user experience.

1. Choose your plan carefully

You might think that the lowest-cost option is most profitable for you. But, it only suits small businesses. If you are buying the lowest cost plan, then you need to deal with many barriers. You can’t scale it beyond 25 users. Also, you can’t use advanced built-in capabilities like data loss prevention (DLP). You can always change your cloud solution in the future. But, it is best to first assess your needs before choosing any plan.

2. Neglecting End-user training

If your employees don’t know how to use Office 365 efficiently, then there is no benefit of deploying it. Most of the employees will find Office 365 tools difficult if they have no prior experience of using Office 365. Thus, it will result in a lack of end-user involvement. Due to this, you won’t get a full return on your investment.

You can’t expect perfect adoption from your employees. Training and Communication is one of the most important components for the successful adoption of Office 365. The best way to achieve this is by a proactive pre-launch that should build hype around Office 365. Your employees must know about Office 365 before you have even started the migration process. You must tell them how they can use Office 365 tools to work more efficiently and smarter.

If your employees have some training in using Office 365 tools, then they can use them to their full potential. Microsoft is constantly updating Office 365 for their clients. Thus, you must provide continued training to your employees, even after the migration process. You can hire a Managed Service Provider to train your employees. There are also various video tutorials available on the internet that you can use to train your employees.

3. Know your limitations and options

If you are using cloud solutions, then you don’t need to worry about managing software in-house. But, if you are planning on sharing passwords between the desktop software, workstations access and Office 365, then you need to plan for long-term Exchange. You can use the Exchange component of Office 365 to execute your emails. But, you need an Exchange server in-house to manage simple things like single sign-on. It is important to consider all these things before choosing your plan. You can either choose to migrate your emails in one phase or you can split them into different phases. There are also various third-party migration tools that you can use.

4. Rushing Data Transfers

Most of the businesses want to transfer all their data quickly. But, the last thing you want is data loss after deploying Office 365. If you are not doing proper planning before the data migration process, then these issues can arise. Before moving your data from your server to a cloud server, you have to define the data that you want to move.

It is best to first start using OneDrive first for storing your user’s files. Then you should move towards the Office 365 toolkit and start using tools like Microsoft Teams. You can use Microsoft Teams or Office 365 Groups for getting your documents to the cloud. These tools are important for improving team collaboration. You can also consider a “hybrid migration” while migration your files to the cloud. A hybrid migration strategy uses both your current server and cloud server. This approach will help you in detecting and preventing major problems like data loss. Assessing your data will help you in defining your cloud needs. Your assessment will also help you in deciding whether you want to use Microsoft Migration Tool or if you want to use a third-party tool like AvePoint.

5. Stay up-to-date with the supporting technology

Office 365 offers the latest versions of collaboration tools and Office software. These apps are also compatible with the old generation of Microsoft Windows and Office suites. But, you can’t use Office 365 apps in every previous Windows version. For example, you can’t use Office 365 in Windows XP. Thus, your company will get all the latest software by purchasing Office 365. But, you have to finally move away from older products like Office 2003 and XP to ensure compatibility.

Conclusion

Office 365 offers various benefits to companies. Thus, these factors should not stop you from moving to Office 365. But, you should consider these points before migrating your applications and data to Office 365. Office 365 reduces the burden of your IT department. Your IT department can focus on more important things like your backend-end tasks. It will also give you access to all the latest software which you can access on multiple devices. Just make sure to develop a plan before migrating to Office 365. You should consider hiring a good IT Managed services provider like Bleuwire. They will guide you through a smooth deployment process.

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