The new Office 365 product offering, due to launch in 2011, combines Microsoft Exchange Online, Sharepoint, Live Meeting and Lync (formerly Office Communicator) with Office web apps and licensing for the familiar Microsoft Office Desktop software.

Microsoft Office 365 public beta space is limited, however customers wanting to get up and running as soon as possible with Microsoft Online Services can sign up to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) right away. Once Office 365 launches, BPOS customers will be able to transition across to Office 365.

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Cloud computing frees companies from the burden of traditional IT systems, making it much easier for businesses of all sizes to benefit from the latest technologies and applications.

Traditional IT systems usually require significant investment in server infrastructure, software, storage and staff. Cloud applications run in shared data centres, managed and maintained by experts. Cloud software is provided by companies such as Microsoft and can be activated in minutes or hours rather than the lengthy software and hardware purchase, development and testing cycles usually associated with traditional applications.

The idea of storing data and running software in a data centre miles away is not entirely new – users of online mail services such as Hotmail and Gmail have been doing this for years. The difference is that now, industry leaders such as Microsoft and Amazon are investing heavily to build new data centres with the capacity to host many more applications (CRM, business collaboration software, HR applications) than was previously possible. This means that businesses of all sizes can now choose to run their software applications in the cloud, removing the worry of managing and maintaining servers onsite whilst allowing access to the latest software versions.

Alongside the lower costs and shorter setup times associated with cloud computing, businesses can also benefit from much greater flexibility. The cloud’s subscription-based model allows customers to increase capacity or add additional users as required. In the past this simply was not possible – businesses had to decide when purchasing a server, for example, to allow additional capacity for future expansion. With cloud computing this is not necessary; customers pay only for what they use.

Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite

The Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite is a set of Microsoft hosted messaging and collaboration solutions including Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, and Microsoft Office Communications Online. These online services are designed to give your business streamlined communication with high availability, comprehensive security, and simplified IT management.

The full suite is available to UK customers with pricing starting from just £6.71/user per month.

To learn more or to get started with a free 30-day BPOS trial visit http://www.thebposbusiness.com

Microsoft Dynamics CRM – hosted

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is highly customisable customer relationship management system which integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook and other business systems, providing valuable insight to aid businesses in nurturing existing client relationships and forging new ones.   Microsoft Dynamics CRM is available to UK customers as an online hosted solution from The CRM Business. 

Hosted CRM pricing starts at just £37.50/user per month.

To learn more or to get started with a free 30-day Microsoft CRM trial visit http://www.thecrmbusiness.com

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The competitively priced suite of cloud-hosted communication and collaboration tools (comprising Exchange, Sharepoint, Live Meeting and Office Communicator) has proved a hit with customers, allowing subscription-based access to the latest Microsoft technologies without the usual infrastructure and maintenance worries.

We have been involved with BPOS since early in the beta testing for the UK, and are proud to work with a steadily increasing customer base integrating BPOS with Dynamics CRM to deliver big benefits and tangible savings. As businesses look to reduce costs, 2010 looks to be an exciting year for Microsoft BPOS. Subscriptions to the full suite start from just £6.71/user per month.

Visit our BPOS Business site to learn more about Microsoft BPOS or to sign up for your 30-day free trial.

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For executives at The CRM Business, a U.K.-based Software plus Services provider, the drive among current and prospective clients to lower costs, increase flexibility, and operate more efficiently was creating both opportunities and challenges. The CRM Business has long helped its clients meet their business requirements through solutions built around Dynamics CRM, and company executives could see the opportunity to help clients operate more efficiently and effectively by extending those solutions with the integrated messaging and collaboration services provided by the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).

Download the full 6-page case study: The CRM Business creates integrated solutions using Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS)

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