Microsoft Online Services

The emergence of the cloud is the most disruptive - and positive - shift in computing of the decade. The ability to put computation, data and services wherever they work best and enable them to work seamlessly together - as if they were one single computer - simply makes sense. It's the next logical step in computing.

Organisations around the world are embracing cloud solutions to enhance the way they serve their employees and customers across all the devices they use, reduce costs and make their IT more efficient and fluid. Meanwhile, as more consumers move into the digital world, these 'enterprises of one' are leading the way in adoption of cloud services. These two trends are converging to reshape our expectations for how technology can work on our behalf, at work, on the road and in our homes.

Microsoft's broader technical strategy - spanning applications, platforms and infrastructure - is known across the industry as Software + Services. It brings together the rich capabilities of connected devices and the ubiquity and utility of the Web. This approach effectively bridges the three primary screens in our lives today - the computer on your desk, the mobile phone in your hand and the big screen in your living room and office wall.

For businesses, this enhances the infrastructure benefits of cloud computing with productivity and agility that span across the devices employees (and customers) rely on.

For consumers, this means a digital life that surrounds them wherever they go, ensuring that the people, photos, TV, music and games they want are available wherever and whenever they want them.

A NEW CHOICE

What we love about the cloud is the flexibility it offers - through interoperability, open standards, you can choose from a variety of approaches to create a solution that works best for you.

With Software and Services, bringing business into the cloud is simple. Host your applications, services and data with your own data centre or with Microsoft's, or both. Get the benefits of the cloud through infrastructure, platform or software as a service. Mix and match the solutions however you like. It's your choice.

Microsoft provides you with the right mix of on-premise and off-premise technologies based on your needs. Start small in the cloud, or collaborate with Microsoft for complete hybrid solutions, with unparalleled service and support.

The services are easy to deploy and manage, so you can reduce costs and adapt quickly to changing needs. Also, because they're built on technology people know and use - you can leverage your history and investments to make the leap into the cloud.

The result is that you can focus your efforts - and your spending - on finding the IT strategy that best suits your organisation, while issues like infrastructure and maintenance are increasingly abstracted away.

WORKING FOR YOU

Microsoft Online Services gives your business the powerful productivity capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server and Microsoft Office Live Meeting - all hosted online and all up and running quickly and easily without the upfront costs of an on-premise deployment.

The suite of productivity tools enables your workers to communicate and collaborate effectively, while enabling your IT team to focus on more business-critical tasks. With services hosted by Microsoft, you can have peace of mind knowing that experts are managing your IT and that your services will be available when you need them.

How It Works

Each Microsoft data centre, located strategically throughout the world, houses a highly reliable complex of equipment that provides seamless connectivity to the Microsoft Online suite of services. This global network of geo-redundant data centres provides around-the-clock access to your business-critical collaboration services and helps keep your data safe.

With Microsoft Online Services, your IT staff retains control over the services offered to your end users. Microsoft Online Services work seamlessly with Microsoft Active Directory, so you can continue to manage user policies centrally and control which services are available to your existing users. A single administrative panel - with consoles for provisioning, usage, monitoring and support - enables simple and centralised management. Plus, your users can enjoy the convenience of a single sign-on to access all their hosted services.

Features and Benefits

Microsoft Online Services makes it easy for you to leverage and rapidly deploy familiar Microsoft server products as flexible services.

These hosted services - Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) - include the following:

Exchange Online

Provide employees access to email, calendar and contacts from virtually anywhere, at any time, on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices - while helping to protect against malware and spam. Exchange Online can be rapidly deployed, flexibly expanded, and is designed to be securely administered using a powerful yet easy-to-use Web-based console.

SharePoint Online

Share documents, contacts, calendars, and tasks in a single location. Based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, SharePoint Online delivers rich collaboration capabilities that enable team members to flexibly and efficiently collaborate, find organisational resources, search your intranet site and manage content and workflow.

Office Live Meeting

Connect with colleagues and customers through real-time meetings, training sessions, and events using only a PC with an Internet connection. Hosted Web conferencing services from Microsoft Office Live Meeting give your employees the power to collaborate wherever they are, to set up project meetings, brainstorm ideas, and collaborate on whiteboards without the cost and hassle of travel!

Office Communications Online

Enable users to find and rapidly connect with the right person from the applications they use most. Office Communications Online provides streamlined access to rich presence and instant messaging capabilities that are centrally managed by IT and work seamlessly with a range of Microsoft Office system programs.

THE MICROSOFT CLOUD VISION

In today's competitive global market, businesses need technology that enables flexibility and cost-effectively adds value to their organisation. Internet-based hosted services provide a way to meet these objectives. They deliver feature-rich, familiar, productivity tools to users while helping to relieve the burden of managing and maintaining business systems - freeing up IT departments to focus on initiatives that can deliver true competitive advantage.

Microsoft has a long history of developing and delivering innovative software and services for businesses and individuals. Designed to meet your unique business needs, the Microsoft vision brings together the best of rich on-premise applications and flexible online services to give you ready access to the latest messaging and collaboration tools - without costly deployment and time-consuming maintenance. Microsoft Online Services reliably delivers 99.9% scheduled uptime and carries a financially backed service level agreement.

FIND OUT MORE

For further information and pricing, contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk