The flexible payment plans afforded to us by cloud software are tangible and immediate. They empower many SMB companies to get network security-protecting, enterprise-level software that was previously out-of-reach due to prohibitively expensive upfront costs and on-going service level agreements. This has all changed however with the (relatively) new flexibility of cloud software payment plans.

Networks and network security have gone from simple multi-cell organisms into a supernova of colliding devices. As any network admin can tell you, more users and more devices means more complexity. And as networks quickly inflate they quickly become hard to administer.

Success is wonderful… until you need to scale. Scaling your business is an exciting time - since growth is a positive thing. During all this excitement however, there are a number of concerns, including accountability, relationship management, software licensing, server load balancing and migrations, and security concerns.

There is no doubt that Office 365 is a massive success for Microsoft. The software has provided thousands of businesses with simplicity and reliability, and that it is changing the entire productivity software category. The success of Microsoft Office 365 is largely due in part to a strong small business segment.

One simple way to cut costs is to reassess the software you are paying for and why you are paying for it. If there is anything that can be cut or replaced with a more cost effective alternative, you should try it. Without further ado, we will discuss how Microsoft Office 365 can help your business to cut costs. Surely, the ability to automate basic office tasks is one of the major benefits of Office 365; however, many businesses forget that Microsoft’s cloud service goes well beyond and above basic automation. You could be missing out on saving opportunities from Office 365 if you are still manually managing time-off requests, service requests, expense reimbursements, or other core business processes. Upon first observation, it may seem Office 365 is targeted at helping small businesses; however, with a little research, it becomes apparent that even the larger businesses could boost their efficiency and cut costs through the adoption of Office 365.

Securing Humanity You probably hear a lot about information system security these days. Not really a day goes by where we don’t hear about a new threat or exposure. Traditional approaches talk about performing business risk assessment, and using that information to drive decisions. You're ultimately achieving the goal of reducing then accepting a given risk, based on analysis of likelihood and impact to your organization. This approach is logical, sound, and certainly the appropriate way to manage risk and information security for your systems, however, I challenge you to think about another angle.

Microsoft’s Exchange Online provides businesses with reliable email services, calendar software and robust contact management capabilities. Throughout the early 2000’s, businesses needed to install the Microsoft Exchange Server on a physical server. This process required either extensive in-house maintenance, or an outsourced service provider. Since Exchange Online does not require in-house maintenance, you can cut costs and better utilize your productivity.