Office Mobile for Android Phones is now available!

Users who have an existing Office 365 subscription can now download and use Office Mobile on Android devices.

Office Mobile is the official companion to Microsoft Office. Gain full access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents with feature rich charts, animations, graphics and shapes.

A True Office Experience:

Easy Access:

Office Mobile Features:

 > Access documents from anywhere using SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro or SharePoint
 > Open Recent Documents from anywhere
 > Email attachments
 > Resume Reading, pick up where u left off from any device
 > Edit while offline, and sync later
 > Share information
If you want to try Office Mobile for Android phones, but don't have an Office 365 subscription, you can sign up for a free Office 365 Trial.

What’s next with Office 365

We’re visiting Microsoft again this week to discuss future changes with Office 365 and their online services.

As a leading Cloud Accelerate Partner in the UK we are in the privileged position of finding out what’s next with Office 365, this is often between 3 and 6 months ahead of our competitors.

Unfortunately we are under NDA so we are not able to let you know what these changes are, but what it does mean is that we are able to ensure you are heading in the right direction with regards to your IT and Office subscriptions. We have implemented some changes for customers which aligns them perfectly for the future.

Microsoft Office 365 currently includes the following technologies:

Front-End Applications (Desktop or device, i.e. laptop / tablet):

Microsoft Office Pro Plus:

          • Outlook
          • Dynamics CRM (Outlook Client)
          • Word
          • Excel
          • OneNote
          • Lync
          • Access
          • Publisher
          • InfoPath
          • SkyDrive Pro (new)

Also available is:

          • Microsoft Visio
          • Microsoft Project

 

Back-end Technology: 

          • Exchange Online
          • SharePoint Online
          • Lync Online
          • CRM Online

If you want to work with a leading UK Office 365 Partner – get in touch!

Office 365 for Hospital Group John Munroe

We recently implemented Office 365 and IT Support services for John Munroe Hospital and were very thankful to receive the following testimonial:

I have worked as IT and Communications Coordinator for John Munroe Hospital for four years now. The network was littered with various operating systems and legacy equipment, and the Board decided to take action regarding this situation. I was asked to investigate options for replacing the legacy equipment and also upgrading the system in general.

My inquiries into Microsoft Office 365 and associated HP Equipment led me to Eitex, and I was put in contact with Dean Spencer.

Dean was friendly and approachable, and quickly arranged a meeting to discuss the network requirements and associated equipment required.

We met and discussed a plan moving forward that included a hybrid deployment of Office 365 for our company and the lease of the new PC’s, Laptops and Servers required. Along with Chris Thompson, we started to plan the deployment of the solution.

Chris was there every step of the way during and after the deployment, and Dean was always on hand to answer any questions relating to the finance of the solution and any further solutions available. I enjoy working with Eitex, as being Microsoft Partners they are very knowledgeable regarding the solutions on offer from Microsoft, and their deployment. If they are unsure, they are confident enough to tell you they are unsure, and can quickly put you in touch with someone who does.

The IT Support team are always available, and have responded to any queries or issues I have raised at any time in a timely and concise manner, addressing and resolving the issue to the best of their ability.

I would highly recommend Eitex for any company who wish to deploy any form of Microsoft solution, as they listen to your requirements and act upon them with your interests at the heart of what they offer. They are friendly, approachable and have a no-nonsense approach to IT Support. I look forward to continuing to work with them and a prosperous future together.

IT Support for Leeds based AvantaUK

We received a testimonial from workspace design company AvantaUK. The company is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The brief was to improve communications by moving systems to the cloud. Avanta also require IT Support and management on an on-going basis.

Eitex implemented Office 365, and now provide Pro-Active Technical Support and Management.

Testimonial:

We approached Eitex and 2 other companies to pitch for our IT maintenance and to put forward proposals including ideas to improve certain key business processes including communication.  From the offset I was very impressed with Dean and his approach.  He put forward a very competitive proposal based around the Microsoft Office 365 Cloud based solution.

We have worked closely with their engineers on install and the after support has been first class.

We would recommend Eitex to anyone.


If you would like to discuss Office 365, and / or IT Support please don't hesitate to get in
touch!

Office 365 for Oxford College, Gibraltar

We were asked to provide a cloud computing solution based around Office 365 for Oxford College.

The head office is based in Gibraltar, and so the entire job was designed and implemented remotely.

Oxford College commented on the work we carried out:

Oxford College provides high quality online learning for over 20,000 students, including BTEC HND and A level students. As such it is essential that our students are able to access their work at any time and that we can provide support to assist their studies. Eitex ensures that we can maintain a high level of service to our students by working quickly to deal with any problems as they arise and ensuring that we can provide uninterrupted service to our students.

If you would like to discuss your Cloud Computing requirements, please get in touch.

Office 365 - Meeting the Developers

Dean went down to Reading last Friday to Microsoft to the Office 365 launch event. Bringing a change in plans and newer ways to implement Office into your business. After watching a demo presented by James Akrigg, Head of Technology for Partners, Dean got the rare opportunity to meet James afterward.

 

After this opportunity Dean said "Having this opportunity to talk to the developers who can answer these questions is golden. This knowledge that I now have from asking the right people will now allow me to progress and show customers that Office 365 is truly the way forward."

 

If you have any questions regarding Office 365 please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Follow us on Twitter @EitexUK

 



The new Office 365

Why should you care about the new Office 365? If the e-mail, document sharing and storage, instant messaging, Microsoft Office and more cloud based solutions doesn’t get you excited, then how about a fancy new interface to make it even easier to get around than it was before.

As Microsoft prepare for the release of the latest cloud upgrades for Office 365 for business tomorrow, people are eagerly awaiting Office 2013 which will roll out alongside upgrades. Office Professional Plus will now be 2013 instead of 2010, and people who already have the subscription will be updated and upgraded if they haven’t already.

New interfaces within the portal will arise as newer ways of getting around and offering its social prowess as people are able to update the social feed when an important document is uploaded. Getting to grips with the newer and more fluid interface will be a smooth learning curve, there are few differences and things that are different are easy enough to learn about. You can now preview documents before opening them in SkyDrive Pro and SharePoint, allowing you view the document in a window when you click on more options, this saves time as opening and closing documents that were labelled badly or incorrectly can be inefficient.

I cannot wait to move our customers to this newer version of Office 365, giving them a neater and more aesthetic experience, still with all the great functionality of previous software.

 

If you have any questions on the new Office 365, please give us a call.

Follow us at @EitexUK

With the release of Service Pack 3 previously this month, Office for Mac can now partake in the Office 365 subscription offerings.

The subscriptions service are best suited for customers who use Office on an array of devices as it will allow any combination of Mac/PC installs using 5 re-usable licenses; although, if you do have only the one device there is a lot of value consisting of free version upgrades etc.

Please do note that the minimum requirement for Office 365 subscriptions on Mac is OS X 10.6; while lasting Office for Mac 2011 remains 10.5.8. This difference is due to some of the Office 365 services functionality that are included within the subscription offer.

I am aware some people will be wondering when the next version of Office for Mac will be available now that Office 2013 has launched; unfortunately Microsoft are not ready to make an announcement at this moment in time, but know they are working hard on the future of Office for Mac. The most current version of Office for Mac is 2011.

If you are interested in Office 365 and have any questions please get in touch.

Eitex leading the way with Cloud Computing

Eitex were invited to an exclusive Microsoft Event where top performing Microsoft partners were rewarded and recognised for their efforts.

 

The event held at The Paramount in London was a high profile event and Dean Spencer owner of Eitex got the rare chance to meet with the General Manager of Microsoft Cloud Services, amongst other key Microsoft personnel.

 

Dean Spencer (on right) with Brian Ridgeway, General Manager of Microsoft Cloud Services

 

 

“The insights into products and services which are not yet available are invaluable for my business and my customers. There are some exciting developments with Office 365 and CRM Online. Cloud services help get the economy moving as companies can invest in their IT infrastructure without capital outlay. We are proud to demonstrate that Yorkshire Business can compete and win in the global marketplace!” commented Dean

Move to Office 365 for Free!

Office 365 is Microsoft’s fastest selling product of all time, have you moved over to Office 365 yet?

Millions of businesses are already enjoying the benefits, and now you can too!

Between now and 24th Feb 2013 Eitex are offering free setup* of Office 365 for the first 50 customers to sign-up! This is a saving of £325.00

If you’re interested in moving your business to the cloud there has never been a better time.

To take advantage please email me back with the words ‘Move me to the Cloud’ in the Subject Line. If you are one of the first 50 we will email you back letting you know you qualify for free setup.

Offer includes the following:
• Office 365 Subscription Setup
• Domain Setup and validation
• User Account Setup (please supply usernames in Excel Format)

Need to chat about it first? Please call Dean directly on 01924 918 419.

*Offer is available to Small and Medium Sized businesses only and is subject to terms and conditions.

Kind Regards,
Dean Spencer

Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Sage 50 integration for Hygiene Company Branta

Following a company restructure The Branta Group needed to bring their IT up to date to fit with their new dynamic business model.

Branta chose Eitex as they were able to offer everything from hardware leasing to Cloud Solution Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft CRM Online and Sage 50 with full CRM Integration. Both companies are also located in West Yorkshire which is an added bonus.

“We were pleased to be offer a complete solution which was designed by our engineers and senior development team, and all within budget.” commented Dean from Eitex.

As part of the cloud solution Eitex are also offering Pro-Active IT Support.

The Branta Group own the following brands:

If you would like to enquire about the cleaning and hygiene products offered by Branta please get in touch!

If you would like to see what Office 365 and Cloud Computing can do for your business please contact Eitex.

IT Support and Office365 for Mezzanine Floor, Racking and Shelving Company

A leading workspace solutions provider were interested in the opportunities Cloud Computing would provide the company. Avanta UK offer mezzanine and racking solutions globally and traditional office based servers were too restrictive and didn’t seem to fit the bill for consultants when travelling to far reaches of the world!

The company became aware of Eitex via Microsoft as they are a leading Cloud partner in the UK. Marketing manager Neil mentioned “the demo Eitex provided on Office 365 blew us away. As the solution is implemented information will become available to all our staff on their laptops, tablets and even mobile phones from anywhere in the world. What’s more and surprisingly is that you don’t always need an internet connection to access your work and emails. Amazing!”

As part of the cloud solution Eitex are also offering Pro-Active IT Support for existing servers and infrastructure as well as bespoke development for in-house ERP systems.

If you would like to enquire about the leading workspace solutions offered by Avanta please get in touch!

If you would like to see what Office 365 and Cloud Computing can do for your business please contact Eitex.

What is cloud computing?

One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘What is Cloud Computing? and 'What is Microsoft Office 365'.

The easiest way of explaining this is with a few simple diagrams:

‘Traditional’ On-Premise Network:

 On the above image you can see 3 file servers at the top of the page:

• The blue server located at the top left manages the network or domain
• The second manages email / Outlook mailboxes
• The third manages file and print sharing

On some networks these three services could actually be managed by one server which does all three jobs, i.e. Small Business Server.

The bottom half of the page shows PCs which are on the network. The 2 PC’s at the bottom right are connected to the network via the internet which is depicted as a cloud.

 
Cloud Computing Network:

On the above image you can see 1 file server, and 2 clouds at the top of the page. This is known as hybrid as it is a combination of on-premise and cloud computing:

• The server to the top left manages the network or domain and potentially print sharing
• The cloud in the middle ‘Exchange Online’ replaces a server and is a Cloud Computing Service which manages email / Outlook mailboxes
• The cloud to the right ‘SharePoint Online’ replaces a server and is a Cloud Computing Service which manages file sharing plus much more besides

The bottom half of the page shows PCs which are on the network. The 2 PC’s at the bottom right are connected to the network via the internet which is depicted as a cloud. If the network is unavailable this doesn't matter as users are still able to access files and email via cloud computing services.

The result of the above hybrid approach is that the network users will not have changes in functionality and not need to learn anything new. Quiet often users do not know anything has changed!

Do you think it is the right time to move to the cloud? Leave your thoughts and comments below.

IT Support for Charity AfPP

Having taken an overview of the charity’s computer systems, network and IT requirements Yorkshire based charity AfPP - (The Association for Perioperative Practice) made the decision to outsource their IT support.

CEO Dawn Stott said “we have such a diverse requirement with regards to IT support, Web, CRM and Cloud Computing that when an opportunity arose we decided that the challenges which come from many different directions on a daily basis, would be best managed externally.”

Having reviewed the market AfPP found Eitex who were able to offer Outsourced IT support services, Cloud Computing with Office 365, and also offer Microsoft CRM Support if required.

Furthermore AfPP have saved around 50% on their annual IT Expenditure which for any business or charity is fantastic news!

What are your thoughts, could IT Outsourcing save your business or charity money? Please feel free to post your comments below.

How to add a domain to Office 365

When setting up a Microsoft Office 365 subscription you may wish to add your company domain name to the system instead of using the default *@onmicrosoft.com domain.

We have produced a short video detailing how to do this:

A basic knowledge of DNS is required, alternatively you may ask your ISP, domain host, web developer or IT Support provider to make these changes for you.

We will carry out this work for you free of charge for your first domain if you set Eitex as your Microsoft Office 365 Partner of Record. Instructions on how to do this are here provided here:

How to set Partner of Record in Office 365

If you need help administering your Office 365 account please just get in touch.

We are also publishing more How-To video's on the Eitex YouTube Channel

How to set the Partner Record in Office 365

How to set the Partner of Record in Office 365.

Here at Eitex we often get asked how to set the Partner of Record (POR) in Microsoft Office 365. To answer your question we produced a short video, and PDF document.

YouTube Video:

How-To PDF File:

How to Set Partner of Record in Office 365


So why would you want to set a Partner Record in Office 365?

- Setting a Partner Record will allow your Office 365 Cloud Accelerate or Partner to administer your Office 365 account on your behalf. The reason you may want this to happen it that your Cloud Partner can liaise with Microsoft, and make technical administrative changes to your account.

- Setting a Partner Record will stop sales and marketing calls from Microsoft, instead this process will be handled by your Cloud Partner.

If you need help administering your Office 365 account please just get in touch.

We are publishing more How-To video's on the Eitex YouTube Channel

Office 365 for national charity Carplus

Eitex love to find ways of reducing the carbon footprint for its customers, so when the opportunity came up to work with Carplus, we jumped at the chance!

Carplus is a national environmental transport charity promoting responsible car use. Their end objective is to reduce the negative impact of cars in the UK by promoting car clubs,  ride sharing, and other low carbon options, as well, of course, as anywhere working.

Whilst promoting their good endeavours Carplus wanted to do the responsible thing, and reduce their own carbon footprint as well. To do this Carplus implemented cloud computing with the use of Office 365.

With the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 Carplus have been able to:
- Decommission 2 servers saving energy
- Allow staff to work from anywhere, reducing journeys to and from work
- Reduce IT Support costs and system management

Eitex confirmed their charity status with Microsoft, and charity discounts were applied to the Office 365 subscription. The result is a very cost effective way of working, and the carbon footprint is reduced!

Now that Carplus are using Office 365 Eitex are able to offer Cloud IT Support which means all IT Support can be carried out remotely (via the cloud), thus reducing road traffic even further.

If you would like to speak about Office 365 for your business / charity, please get in touch.

GG Glass and Glazing - Cloud Promotes Nationwide Success

GG Glass and Glazing fit large scale shop windows and fronts for likes of Next, Marks and Spencer and many more high street names. They also offer a rapid break-fix response available. 24 hours a day.

**Register for one of our Office 365 Events**

Being a national company with a centralised call centre meant considerable investment in terms of leased lines, remote connectivity and server farms.

Eitex were recruited as GG wanted more from their system and also wanted to find ways to reduce their annual £100k plus IT support bill. At this stage GG had several leased lines, and a Citrix Farm at head office. Low end computers and / or thin clients were installed at each branch across the UK.

The new system which was designed by Eitex was based purely around Cloud technologies including:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

CRM Online is used to manage the entire sales process. The system is available to everyone throughout the company and provides excellent reporting to allow instant bench-marking between regional offices.

• Microsoft SharePoint Online via Office 365

SharePoint was developed to allow sharing of company data, and allows the management team to collaborate on Projects seamlessly from different parts of the UK. Company knowledge and information has become more freely available which enhances performance and reduces lead times.

• Microsoft Exchange via Office 365

Exchange Online has allowed the company to store email for longer periods with hugh 25gb mailboxes. Strict size limits were enforced previously which the company found too restrictive. SPAM is no longer an issue thanks to Forefront Protection.

All machines were replaced at each branch office with standard desktop computers. This was the single largest expense for the company. The solution however has allowed GG to retire their Citrix Farm and leased lines and represents a saving of around 70% on their IT annual expenditure.

MD Mr. Grant commented "the new system is far more flexible and allows us to invest more freely in other areas of the business. Office 365 and CRM Online allows us to simply switch on new users which means new branches and offices are far easier to plan. The savings made have far exceeded our expectations as well."

The Cloud has removed the need for server farms and leased lines. If you would like to look at the possibilities Office 365 can offer your businesses please get in touch.

**Register for one of our Office 365 Events**

Office365 - bridging the gap between on-premise and the cloud

Switching on Office 365 is easy, you simply choose the service or package you want, enter your payment details and away you go! It's certainly much easier than installing as server to do the same job.

But where does this leave my dusty old servers? Are they still needed? I better not switch them off just in case.

What about my email, how do you get it from the server to the cloud? Also I have read that I can access my documents from home and on the go, how do I do that?

The office365.com website is great, but I can never just find the answer I need for 'my' business.

Welcome Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner!
Luckily Microsoft recommended a Cloud Partner that could work with me and my business. They recommended Eitex in this instance who took the time to understand my business, and the steps I needed to take to get my business into the cloud.

We didn't move everything in one go, in fact we started with email. Eitex performed an 'email migration' to get my email to the cloud. I was then able to switch off my Exchange email server.

Then with a little SharePoint development I was able to move company files and folders to the cloud which were accessible to everyone. We didn't switch off the File Server as Eitex suggested a blended approach. We dont need old data in the cloud, so it made sense to leave old data on the server!

There are some exciting new communication tools also called Lync which gives functionality I never had before. This includes working on documents together with colleagues in other offices, video conferencing and private instant messaging.

We are now looking to move our CRM system to the cloud, another exciting journay there I'm sure.

I finally saw the real value of Office 365, but importantly the Microsoft Cloud Partner who helped me get there!

Avoid the Perils of Winter this year with Office 365

Snow Days...

Start your free 30 day trial right here...

This year there are rumours flying around that we could be looking at a worse winter than last year! A ‘mini ice age’ apparently. Unfortunately one of the things that you probably can expect is snow. And with snow comes the usual staff phone call ‘I’m sorry but I’m snowed in. I can’t make it in today.’

This is a nightmare for productivity and sometimes a little annoying when you are a business owner. 

But why should this be a problem in this day and age? 

At Eitex we are excellently placed to advise you of the options that are best suited to you and your business. With our highly qualified team of engineers and project managers we can point you in the right direction for a solution that will allow you to keep production going and won’t be heavy on the pocket. 

What can you do?

There are a plethora of different technologies out there to allow you to connect remotely to your work systems. Not only that but there are also excellent ‘cloud’ based technologies that will enable you to work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. You might be lounging by the pool rather than snowed in after all. 

But which one would suit you and your business? 

That’s where we at Eitex can help. Not only are we a Microsoft Cloud Essentials Partners with extensive knowledge of all the new cloud based technologies but we are also aware of the different methods that are available for remotely accessing server environments and even desktops. 

Isn’t all this expensive?

With the excellent advice that you can gain from talking to us at Eitex it doesn’t need to expensive. By approaching the problem from a logical prospective you don’t purchase IT, you purchase a solution that suits your business requirements.  

And when the snow has gone?

This is the best part. Why should it only be on ‘snowed in’ days that you should have remote facilities? After getting the best advice from Eitex you will be able to utilise the technology every day and at the same time will be pushing your business forward with up to date, reliable and advanced technology. And all the time it won’t punish you pocket. No more huge pay outs for server upgrades or network rebuilds. 

And by the way… if you buy your ‘cloud’ based technologies from Eitex then we will support it for FREE with our Standard Desktop Support Packages.

Start your free 30 day trial right here...