Microsoft Increases Protection From Junk Email in Office 365

junk email

Considering the extent to which many businesses rely on email, it is not surprising that the growing number of phishing and spoofing emails making it into people’s inboxes has become more of a problem than a nuisance.

Considering Microsoft is one of the largest email providers for commercial users, with over 120 million business users subscribing to Office 365, Microsoft saw an opportunity to provide an additional service to its customer base by enhancing email screening for its Office 365 users.

Here is a quick overview of what users need to know about this latest update.    

The Phishing Dilemma

In a recent blog post, Microsoft explained that phishing scammers who try to obtain sensitive information through email falsification has become a rampant problem.

They claim that businesses are particularly vulnerable to these types of attacks as only 9% of companies in the Fortune 500 have strong email authentication policies, which can leave the majority of businesses vulnerable to having their sensitive information hacked by phishers.

Unless a company’s email filter is able to detect scam email, phishing emails will be delivered to the end user potentially deceiving them.

Microsoft’s Solution

Considering the severity of the threat that phishing attacks can pose to commercial users of Office 365, Microsoft decided that it was time to improve Office 365’s email authentication as they determined that the risk of allowing dangerous emails through was greater than the risk of potentially losing legitimate emails to spam filters.

Previously, this anti-spoofing technology was only available to those organizations that had an Office 365 Enterprise E5 subscription or to those who had purchased an Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) add-on for their Office 365 subscription.

However, as of October 2018, Microsoft has extended this protection to a wider range of Office 365 subscribers who can now benefit from more secure email screenings.

Contact us to learn more about this change to Office 365 as well as to find out about additional steps your business can take to protect itself from phishing attacks.

Skype for Business

skype for business

Achieve more with a fully integrated communication solution

We believe that the heart of productivity is great teamwork, and the heart of great teams is great communication. Productivity today is centered on conversations – sometimes a quick instant message or call, and sometimes a meeting planned in advance including voice, video and content sharing. Office 365 is a world-class productivity service that helps great teams to accomplish great achievements.

At the heart of Office 365 Communications is the Skype for Business service connecting your teams with the experience they love, in the Office applications they use every day. With Skype for Business you can simplify your infrastructure with one platform for calling, conferencing, video, and sharing.

Achieve more with a fully integrated communication solution

Our company offers a fully integrated communications solution based on Office 365, our services, and certified hardware to ensure the best experience for your end-users. We help our customers along all the steps of the productivity improvement journey, starting with deployment planning and roll-out, to making sure your teams are up to speed with the new solution and comfortable enough with the new ways of communication. By leveraging our company’s offering, your teams will be able to communicate like never before using Office 365 and Skype for Business.

Skype across Devices

Connect with your team anywhere using our mobile apps across Windows, iOS and AndroidTM, or bring remote participants into meeting spaces of all sizes with Skype for Business Room Systems.

Skype Across Devices

Complete Meeting Solution

Work like you are all in one room, even when you are not. From collaborative team sessions to large broadcasts or dialing into a conference using your phone, Skype for Business is designed for all your meeting needs.

Complete Meeting Solution

Modern Voice with Cloud PBX

Make, receive, and transfer business calls in the office, at home, or on the road using phone, PC, and mobile. Increase agility and consolidate management with voice services in Office 365.

Modern Voice with Cloud PBX

Security, Control and Compliance

Get end-to-end security, control and compliance that span from the user to the enterprise. All powered by the on-demand scale and manageability of Office 365.

Security, Control and Compliance

Skype for Business voice

Our integrated communications offering helps you take advantage of the following services and capabilities of Office 365 and Skype for Business:

  • Anywhere Access – ability to make and receive business calls in the office, at home, or on the road, using your business number on your smartphone, tablet, PC, or desk phone.
  • PSTN Conferencing – provides the flexibility to dial in to a meeting from a traditional phone, in addition to the existing ability to join a meeting with a single click on your PC or mobile device.
  • Skype Meeting Broadcast – makes it easier than ever to produce large virtual meetings for up to 10,000 meeting attendees, who can join from virtually any browser or device (see it in action). Now Skype for Business truly is a single platform for every type of meeting.
  • Cloud PBX – enables companies to eliminate separate PBX systems and transition to the cloud with Office 365 as the center of communications management.
  • PSTN Calling – ability to subscribe to Microsoft managed calling plans and phone numbers.
  • Skype Connectivity – Connect, communicate, and collaborate with colleagues, consumers, other businesses, and friends and family – anyone who uses Skype – with both voice and HD video.

What You Need to Know About the Newly Upgraded Office 365 E5 Plan

what you need to know about the newly upgraded office 365 e5 plan

office 365 e5 plan

If your business has its finger on the pulse of software productivity, you might have heard by now that Microsoft has made a few changes in their top-tier enterprise plan.

The new Office 365 E5 plan takes the place of the old E4 plan, with many of the same features, as well as several that are new. For anyone looking to find a package that crams as much productivity software and services as possible into a single package, Microsoft has certainly hit the nail on the head.

The E5 plan includes a gamut of new features that make it more worthwhile, however, and should not be dismissed right away. Note that these features come at an extra price for anyone on the lower plans.

  • Advanced Threat Protection for secure attachments and URLs
  • Cloud PBX (Private Branch Exchange) through Skype for Business
  • PSTN Conferencing and Calling
  • Fully integrated Delve Analytics
  • Power BI Pro

The most powerful features of the E5 plan are the last two listed. Delve is a software that helps monitor the health and collaboration among groups of coworkers, clearly and beautifully displayed analysis of communications. Power BI Pro is a new tool to analyze your company’s data quickly and easily. Microsoft touts the possibilities,

“In less than five minutes you can start creating personalized dashboards and reports on your data using natural language and drag-and-drop gestures to find answers to your most important questions.”

If you have any questions or just want a bit more clarity on what this plan is all about, please contact us.

Comparing the Office 365 Enterprise Plans: E3 vs E4

Microsoft Office 365 provides a powerful option for any business that wants to move forward with an all-inclusive office software platform. The enterprise plans are a step above those offered at the small business level, providing business analytics, data and information security, more internal networking options, and greater possibilities for a diverse workforce.

The Office 365 enterprise plans as a whole boasts that they have, “Integrated collaboration services with advanced compliance features and full IT power.” With the full Office suite across devices and accessible online, advanced data protection and legal services, and flexible IT with greater control over automation, the claim that Microsoft makes is quite justified.

Take a look at what the two top plans have to offer.

Office 365 Enterprise E3 vs E4

The top plans that Microsoft has offered look very similar on the surface, and that is honestly because they are. Here is a quick rundown of the features that you will find in both:

  • Full Office suite for PC and Mac, installed on up to 5 computers per user, 5 tablets per user, and 5 phones per user. All users also have access to the full suite online.
  • Skype for Business with video conferencing and instant messaging (for Mac users, Lync is provided since Skype for Business is not yet available).
  • Business-level email accounts with 50 GB of storage, an unlimited inbox, and an upper limit on attachments of 150 MB.
  • OneDrive storage for business with 1 TB of storage per user.
  • Intranet site services and corporate social-networking support.
  • Digital storytelling and presentation with Sway.
  • A corporate video portal for uploading and sharing videos, as well as web meeting broadcasting options.
  • Application management via Sharepoint.
  • Powerful new tools for searching content in 365 using Graph or Delve, and new Excel tools Power Pivot and Power Query.
  • Compliance and information protection for rights management, data loss prevention, and encryption.

What is the Difference?

The price, for one. E3 is $20 per user per month, and E4 is $22. When it comes down to it, though, the E3and E4 plans are very similar. Both include all of the features listed above, and even more if you look at the detailed specifications. The E3 plan specifically touts information and data protection over E4, but it is actually included in both. The difference comes down to one inclusion in the E4 plan.

E4 includes the option for Enterprise Private Branch Exchange via Skype for Business. What this essentially means is that with E4 your business can have a unified communication system with on site enterprise voice and PSTN access.

The E4 plan will no longer be available as of June 30, 2016. If E4 is the plan for you, be sure to take advantage of it while you can! Not sure?

Please contact us and we will help you narrow down your needs so you can be positive you are making the right choice.

Office 365 Business Plans

office 365 business plans

Take a look at the Office 365 Business plans. These plans are built to suit your small business, and all have a limit of up to 300 users.

Microsoft has become the go-to company for reliable, powerful office software. The Office Suite has always included all of the tools that a business needs to work at the forefront of the business marketplace.

Ever since Microsoft launched Office 365 the purchasing, installation, and use of your office programs has never been easier.  The Office 365 option for the Microsoft Office suite offers easy setup, constant support, and a streamlined connection between devices so your business can stay on its feet wherever you are.

Microsoft caters to people and businesses of all types. As a small business, though, you want to stay away from the “at-home” options and take a look at the Office 365 Business plans.  These plans are built to suit your small business, and all have a limit of up to 300 users. Take a look at some of the features offered and decide which would suit your needs the best.

Office 365 Business Essentials: A simple starter for any business, the Business Essentials plan includes an e-mail service and online collaborative calendar tools, unlimited online meetings, messaging, and video conferencing, digital storytelling tools via Sharepoint, and 1TB of online storage.

The online-only Office suite and corporate social networking Are also included in this plan, all for around $5 per user per month ($60/year).

Office 365 Business: The Business plan also comes with the 1TB of cloud storage for you and your employees, however, does not include email, social networking, Sharepoint, or video conferencing.  The Business plan is set up to focus on the full power of the Office Suite for productivity, which means that each user gets the entire suite of applications fully installed on up to 5 computers, 5 tablets and/or phones, and access to the online applications.

The Business plan costs around $8.25 per user per month ($99/year).

Office 365 Business Premium: With the Business Premium plan you get the best of both worlds.  The Premium plan is a combination of all of the features previously mentioned, for just $12.50 per user per month ($150/year). If you want to have the full setup of everything you need to keep your small business productive AND connected, this may just be the plan for you.

The Business and Business Premium plans also offer a Free Trial period to take them for a spin.

If you are still not sure which is right for you, contact us and we can help figure out the solution to your suit your needs.