Business Productivity Online Suite Can Drive Costs Down

By Author: Jamie Hanson
Total Articles: 3495
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Business people who have never utilized Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite may think that the services are so broad that they'll be much too expensive. But in reality, the opposite is true, and using BPOS can actually be about 45 percent cheaper than operating on-premise.

Service On Site BPOS
Users 2,500 2,500
Hardware/Maintenance $174,814 $1,196,726
Software $1,496,893 $1,427,425
Operations $2,668,100 $107,931
Deployment Migration $212,663 $0
Total Costs $4,552,470 $2,732,082

The total cost per user per month for on-premise is $55.39, $25.03 more than the total cost per user per month for Microsoft online, which is estimated to be $30.36 per user per month.

And Microsoft does not reduce quality or make your connection less secure. Actually, using cloud hosting is much safer and gives you much more uptime than using self-hosting. Cloud hosting also offers you a seamless user experience and connectivity, using computers, Web sites and cell phones or even Blackberries. Microsoft's BPOS, which can be purchased through Microsoft partner En Pointe, includes: ...
... Exchanged Hosted Services, Office Live Meeting, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, Office Communications Online and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Using just BPOS alone rather than using each of the software individually should also drive down costs, saving you about 38 percent. One of the reasons cloud hosting is cost effective is that you don't have to actually purchase all of the software yourself, but this quality software is actually offered as a subscription. By paying a relatively small monthly fee, you avoid high upfront expenses allowing your cash flow continues to move rapidly.

Meanwhile, the security and higher uptime Business Productivity Online Suite offers will help keep your costs down over time. Although there is no cure-all solution for phishing scams, spam and viruses today, Microsoft's products have been able to ward them off better than anyone else. The problems that phishing scams, spam and viruses bring today can cause individuals and businesses alike to lose valuable time and money as they try to fix problems that shouldn't have occurred in the first place.

Overall, business men and women have been able to have a good, cost-effective experience with BPOS and the software as a service model has been able to improve cash flow and offer a solid option for busy leaders.

En Pointe is a Microsoft Gold Certified Reseller and offers SharePoint Services. Follow En Pointe's technology blog to stay up-to-date.