Survey: Office 365 Adoption Rates High Despite Challenges

By Michelle Amodio
TMCnet Contributor

Microsoft (News - Alert)'s efforts to boost the adoption rates of its cloud-based Office suite seem to be paying off. As larger companies' Enterprise Agreement licenses with Microsoft run out, many are taking the opportunity to move to the cloud-based system. According to a recent poll from Gartner (News - Alert), 78 percent of survey respondents are currently using or planning to move toward Office 365.

When talking about business perks of "going to the cloud," the benefits cited are usually IT-related, and while those are good reasons, many are switching to address business application needs. Of course, cloud migration is not without its challenges. Some respondents reported administration concerns, in addition to performance issues, however these roadblocks have not hindered adoption rates. 

Satisfaction rates clocked in with a mean score of 5.3 from a scale of 1 to 7.  The reasons for all of this success? For one, Microsoft has upped its marketing efforts to bring Office 365 to the masses, so much so that when enterprises see the end of their perpetual licenses, the move to cloud-based is often irresistible. With so many enterprise businesses already relying on Microsoft products, the shift toward subscription is the next natural step, as Office 365 integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office and other Microsoft programs.

As for what features were most attractive and useful, Exchange 365 capabilities, OneDrive for Business, and Office 365 ProPlus ranked the highest to lowest respectively.

A simple Web search echoes much of what Gartner says about Office 365. Users say one of the biggest advantages is the frequent updates to security and quick access to innovative new features and capabilities. Users get new version releases quickly without having to wait around until a decision comes down or enough money in the budget allows upgrading.

One of the biggest advantages of Office 365 is the ability to work online from anywhere. This greatly enhances team collaboration. Teams can keep in sync with features like multi-party HD video, content sharing, and shared calendars.

Security is also a big feature that is attractive to both enterprise and small businesses alike. Its applications use 128-bit SSL/TSK encryption so even if your files get grabbed during transmission, they’re not readable. This can help relieve the stress that comes from knowing important company data is being accessed from multiple devices, platforms, and places.

The decision to move to Office 365 has already been made by most organizations, and it seems as though future surveys will follow this path.