Video conferencing for startups and small businesses—10 hacks to maximize their value

Video conferencing for startups and small businesses—10 hacks to maximize their value: Whether you operate a startup on a budget or have a successful business, video conferencing can bring everyone together.

New Microsoft App - Snip

Not to be confused with the "Snipping tool"

Microsoft Snip is a new tool built by the team behind Sway and is currently in preview.

On the face of things, Snip this seems like a very simple tool:

1. Take a snapshot of your screen
2. Record audio to describe the snip
3. Add digital Ink to help focus the viewers attention

If you are looking for quick instructional videos this is a fast and easy tool to use.

Check it out!

https://mix.office.com/Snip

New school year brings new security features to Office 365 Education

New school year brings new security features to Office 365 Education: Today we are announcing changes to Office 365 Education that will make it easier for schools to meet their security and compliance needs at a time when teaching and learning are becoming increasingly collaborative and cloud-connected.

How to renew or migrate between Office 365 plans

Renew Office 365 small and midsized business subscriptions

This article applies to the following plans:

·         Office 365 Small Business

·         Office 365 Small Business Premium

·         Office 365 Midsize Business

For other business or education plans, see Renew Office 365 for business.
For Office 365 Home or Personal, see Renew Office 365 for home.

What are the new plans? The three new plans are Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business, and Office 365 Business Premium. These plans are built to meet the needs of small and midsized business customers—businesses ranging from 1 to approximately 300 employees. To learn more about each, see Office 365 for business plans. For more information about how the new plans compare to the old plans, see Moving to the new Office 365 plans for small and midsized businesses.Microsoft has introduced three new small and midsized business plans to replace the current plans. Depending on when your subscription expires, you may need to switch to a new plan when you renew.

When to move to the new plans

Customers who pay monthly or yearly by credit card or invoice, and have only one subscription with no add-ons (such as extra storage)    Renew and switch to the new plans at any time. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Switch Office 365 plans using the switch plans wizard.

Customers who bought Office 365 with a prepaid product key from a retail store or partner, have multiple subscriptions, or have one or more add-ons    ·         Stay on your current plan if you renew before October 1, 2015 ·         Switch to a new plan if you renew after October 1, 2015 Why wait?  By October 1, 2015, we’re rolling out functionality to help you move to the new plans efficiently and smoothly, without any downtime or data loss. However, if you need to switch to one of the new plans before then, call support to get help.

To renew before October 1, 2015

If you’re renewing before October 1, 2015, stay on your current plan when you renew.

HOW DID YOU BUY OFFICE 365?	STEPS TO RENEW AND STAY ON YOUR CURRENT PLAN
If you bought a product key through a retail store	1.       Go to the Subscriptions page in the Office 365 admin center. You must be signed in as an Office 365 global admin to view this page. 2.       For the subscription you want to renew, choose Extend. (If the subscription has already expired, choose Renew instead). 3.       The next step asks you to choose how you want to pay for your renewal. Do one of the following: o    If you’ve already purchased a new Office 365 Small Business Premium product key, select Use a new and unused product key. Follow the remaining steps to enter your 25-character alphanumeric key and renew the subscription. o    If you want to use a credit or debit card, or to set up invoicing, select Use another payment option. Follow the remaining steps to enter your payment information and complete your order. This creates a new subscription with all of your data and license assignments from your original subscription intact. You can view the new subscription on the Subscriptions page. Don't worry if you still see the original subscription listed there; you can let it expire and ignore any related renewal email notifications. TIP   We recommend choosing to pay with a credit card or by invoice (the second option), rather than by using a product key, because it will make it easier to add or remove licenses from your subscription in the future.
If you pay by credit card or invoice, but have multiple subscriptions or add-ons	Make sure that auto-renew is turned on so that your subscription renews automatically. 1.       Go to the Subscriptions page in the Office 365 admin center. You must be signed in as an Office 365 global admin to view this page. 2.       If the toggle under Auto renew is set to On, you're all set. If it is set to Off, switch the toggle to turn it on. NOTE   You can only turn auto-renew on if your subscription is active. If the subscription is in an expired or disabled state, you need to first reactivate your subscription before you can turn auto-renew on.
If you bought your subscription through a partner using a Microsoft Open program	1.       After purchasing a new subscription for the same plan from your Office 365 partner, check your inbox for an email from Microsoft that contains an activation link. TIP   The email is sent to the person listed as the online administrator in the volume licensing agreement. If you’re not sure who is designated as the online administrator,contact your Office 365 partner. 2.       Follow the link in the email to sign in with your work or school account, accept the Open License Agreement, and renew the subscription. 3.       When asked if you want to add licenses or renew your subscription, choose Renew the end date to [x]. For a detailed walkthrough of this process, download the PDF guide,Activate Online Services: Office 365 Subscription. NOTE   Volume licensing customers can also choose to activate Office 365 subscriptions in theVolume Licensing Service Center. To learn how, download the PDF guide, Activate Online Services in the Volume Licensing Service Center.

To renew after October 1, 2015

If you’re renewing on or after October 1, 2015, switch to a new plan when you renew.

HOW DID YOU BUY OFFICE 365?	STEPS TO RENEW AND SWITCH TO A NEW PLAN
If you bought a product key through a retail store	When you renew and switch to one of the new plans, you don’t need to buy another product key. You can renew directly in the Office 365 admin center, either with a credit card or by setting up invoicing. 1.       Go to the Subscriptions page in the Office 365 admin center. You must be signed in as an Office 365 global admin to view this page. 2.       Choose Switch plans. 3.       Review the suggested plan and choose Switch now. If you want to see other plan options, choose See other switch plan options. 4.       Confirm the number of licenses you want in the new plan. 5.       Add your payment information and choose Place order. 6.       After you’ve checked out, you’ll see the status of your subscription as it switches to the new plan. When the switch is complete, you can return to the admin center.
If you bought your subscription through a partner using a Microsoft Open program	To purchase your renewal through an Open program, contact your Office 365 partner. 1.       After purchasing a new subscription for one of the new plans from your Office 365 partner, check your inbox for an email from Microsoft that contains an activation link. TIP   The email is sent to the person listed as the online administrator in the volume licensing agreement. If you’re not sure who is designated as the online administrator,contact your Office 365 partner. 2.       Follow the link in the email to sign in with your work or school account, accept the Open License Agreement, and renew the subscription. 3.       When asked if you want to add licenses or renew your subscription, choose Renew the end date to [x]. For a detailed walkthrough of this process, download the PDF guide, Activate Online Services: Office 365 Subscription. NOTE   Volume licensing customers can also choose to activate Office 365 subscriptions in the Volume Licensing Service Center. To learn how, download the PDF guide, Activate Online Services in the Volume Licensing Service Center. Alternatively, you can choose to renew directly through Microsoft. 1.       Go to the Subscriptions page in the Office 365 admin center. You must be signed in as an Office 365 global admin to view this page. 2.       Choose Renew or add user licenses. 3.       Select Use another payment option. 4.       Enter your preferred payment method (credit/debit card or invoice) and complete the order. This creates a new subscription with all of your data and license assignments from your original subscription intact. You can view the new subscription on theSubscriptions page. Don't worry if you still see the original subscription listed there; you can let it expire and ignore any related renewal email notifications.

Clear up the Office 365 Confusion with Service Descriptions - bookmark this link!

As an Office 365 reseller we often speak to customers who have been given conflicting advice regarding an Office 365 service, feature, limitation, allowance.

For example:

> Can I install Office onto an RDS server with the Business suite?
> What is mailbox allowance for Exchange On-line?
> Can I mix and match Business and Enterprise plans?
> Which Office 365 plans include Microsoft Access?

The answer to each of these questions has changed as Office 365 has evolved, so how can you trust the information that you have been given.

The brief answer is that you can't.  The ONLY place that you can trust is the Office 365 Service Descriptions website.  This should be considered the oracle for Office 365 information and your first point of reference.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office-365-service-descriptions.aspx 

At first glance, it will look like a daunting list of technical features.  This is partly due to the range and scope of the Office 365 solution and partly the complexity of the Office 365 licenses.

Rest assured, if Office 365 provides a feature, it will be detailed in the service descriptions.

Google have re-branded - see the video

Introducing Office UI Fabric—your key to designing add-ins for Office

Introducing Office UI Fabric—your key to designing add-ins for Office: Office UI Fabric is a responsive, mobile-first, front-end framework designed to make it simple to quickly create web experiences using the Office Design Language.