Page 288 - MS Office 365 for Dummies 3rd Ed (2019)

Offloaded Responsibility
You have probably heard the expression that “it takes an army” to do something. When it comes to Information Technology, this saying rings true. When you start thinking about all the people and resources responsible for enterprise-class software, the results can be mind-boggling. You need networking people, operat- ing system administrators, email administrators, server administrators, domain administrators, DNS people, web developers, programmers, provisioning experts, backup engineers, infrastructure, maintenance, patches, backup generators, and the list goes on and on. It is no wonder that it used to take a very large company to adopt software, such as SharePoint.
The cloud is changing the paradigm behind enterprise class software by offload- ing the responsibility for the infrastructure to someone else. In the case of Office 365, that someone else is none other than Microsoft. Microsoft has invested heav- ily in building out data centers, installing computers, operating systems, backup systems, and maintenance plans. Microsoft takes care of it all. When you use Office 365, you simply sign up and start using the products over the Internet. The result is that you don’t have to worry about the heavy lifting. You are free to focus on using the software instead of worrying about keeping the software running.
Reduced Infrastructure
The infrastructure required to run software grows exponentially as the organiza- tion adopts enterprise applications. Even a relatively modest set of servers needs a redundant power supply, multiple Internet connections, a backup plan, and a secure and fireproof location in which to reside. As an organization grows, the amount of infrastructure required grows quickly until an entire team is dedicated to keeping the servers running 24 hours a day.
The costs involved in purchasing, managing, and maintaining the infrastructure involved for enterprise class software can be downright daunting. When you move to Office 365, you are removing the need for onsite infrastructure. That is all taken care of by Microsoft. Without the need for all the servers and software required to run the software, you can focus on the more important issues affecting your business. In a nutshell, you are removing the burden of having on-site infrastructure but still achieve the competitive advantage that comes with using software, such as SharePoint, Teams, Office, and Exchange.
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