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Microsoft 365: what stinkin package are you using?

thunderskunk

Cast Iron
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Location
Middle-of-nowhere
Hey guys,

I’ve seen companies use the Microsoft suite to levels of almost religious dedication with huge success. I’m referring mostly to the teams and planner apps, but having all the standard data processing tools is an obvious benefit.

I’m not here to whine about the forced subscriptions; it’s a fact of the age and I’m just going to deal with it. What I’m asking is which package are folks paying for? Enterprise or business? Standard or premium? Does anybody use power BI?
 
I got rid of the newer versions that operate in the cloud.

I use 2016 versions not connected to anything online ever.
 
I find O365 to be a nuisance... lots more productive with the stand-alone versions. Word etc 2007 or XP versions work just fine, do 99+ % of what the new ones do- and if you get the older pre-ribbon toolbar versions then the interface works a lot better.

Teams is a flat-out disaster- its better than Skype but that hardly a compliment. We are required to use Teams- a group of approx 30 people, no-one likes how the interface behaves, its difficult to keep track of conversations in chat, many pointless and confusing interface behaviors, impossible to turn off annoyances. If you put enough effort into it you can communicate using Teams... its videoconferencing features work reasonably well, but it is clumsy and certainly no more effective than webex or zoom.

Google meet is probably the least intrusive of the videoconf apps I have to use.

I happily avoid using all of them whenever possible.
 
We went with a clone for excel/word/outlook. My personal protest of subscription based software. Won't do it.
 
Sorry, can't help you, we use OpenOffice, its free and its NOT MICROSOFT!


This. I still have a copy of office 2000 on one machine, because of an accounting package that will only export to excel, the rest of the network is all OO. Works 99% the same as Office.
 
you can have a look at this software company, its australian and seems to be taking off sales wise so maybe something that is ok.maybe they have a product thats of use to you.
Atlassian | Software Development and Collaboration Tools

i use apple with microshaft on a emulator just because i cannot get all programs to run on a apple which is a pity, as i would like to get rid of it ( microshaft)

cannot see any benefit of using microshaft so avoid it, been there done that.
 
Hey guys,
I’m referring mostly to the teams and planner apps, but having all the standard data processing tools is an obvious benefit. Does anybody use power BI?

Power BI can be confusing, I thought that I was smart but I cannot figure out DAX. But Tableau and Spotfire cost money and you can use Power BI for free. I tend to do all the nitty gritty inside the SQL views and Power BI only makes an interactive chart. Managing the relationships in Power BI is a nightmare, I have one huge megatable view (like a full cartesian join of everything to everything kind of thing) and then filter that down, rather than separate datasets with relationships. I'm sure there is a better way but I couldn't.

Teams is nice when it works.
 
I knew there was resentment from the switch to subscriptions, I didn’t realize how much.

My push to get on board with it came with a potential customer giving me the stink eye because I’m still using a gmail for my business communications. I hate to say it, but I like the teams and planner apps when everybody is on-board. I’m also planning on hiring a CMM programmer remotely, so the communications and file sharing security is a must.

On the opposite end, my household computer still has three copies of the desktop: the actual desktop, one on the “cloud,” and one in this mysterious folder that says it’s on the cloud, but isn’t, and if you save things there you can never edit them. At one point, the cloud decided my entire C-drive should be read only. Is it my fault? I’m sure. Thing is, nobody had to teach me how to use traditional file management, so what’s the benefit of being on the cloud if it just causes more problems than it solves? Am I just too dumb for this stuff? I don’t have internet at home. Why should I make the effort to “download for offline use” if I that’s just how it is organically?
 
I got Libre Office pre installed on my computer and after using the spreadsheet and word processor, it is essentially the same as word and excel. It is free and open source I believe.

I cannot see how the cloud is safe at all. Then again we get prints sent to our email all the time and think nothing of it. Should I have customers snail mailing me a thumb drive with their prints on it?
 
I have Office on my PC and mainly use Word. I had to uninstall OneDrive because it never finished syncing and it messed up all of my photos with a funny blue icon.

OneDrive (Microsoft Cloud) is not for the faint of heart. I keep all of my photos and documents backed up on a separate 2 TB USB hard drive.

365 is just another Microsoft idea that isn't ready for prime time.
 
So, I went with Microsoft 365 business standard. I got a month free, which was kinda nice. Honestly; my “new business” might only last that long anyways. It’s an idea and it’ll either work or I’ll go back to making chips.

I needed legitimate email and a file server. I don’t have my own server, so the cloud it is. For two emails, total cost is $300 a year. It doesn’t make me happy, but the second person getting said email doesn’t have office products. I used libre open office back in the day, but it only did 95% of what I needed.

If I bought it straight out, I could have gotten a domain for free for a year (a whopping $12 afterward).
 
I use the package that's $99/year and gives me Office in up to 5 devices and 5 terabytes of cloud storage and I have to say that IT'S THE ABSOLUTE BEST TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE I'VE EVEN MADE!!! Yes, I get why people hate subscriptions (that's why I recently purchased TurboCAD and gave up on Fusion 360) but just the time savings alone pay for the "service". I just dumped a laptop and had no "anxiety" about losing/transferring data. I can easily pull up photos and other docs on my phone (if cellular data service is accessible, usually is). I start a new device, log into my OneDrive and "whamm-o", there's my files & data.

Hating subscription services is just another "growth block" that many businesses adhere to. Just like hating ERP, it keeps your business from growing. If you like your business small and "not super-efficient to operate", I'm totally cool with that. Just don't complain about this kind of stuff if you really want to grow your business as you'll just waste time on it.

There are a few things you have to get "used" to, don't leave a file open on one PC and open it on another (unless maybe you're accessing via remote desktop, which I don't use).

Good luck,
The Dude
 
Hating subscription services is just another "growth block" that many businesses adhere to. Just like hating ERP, it keeps your business from growing.
The Dude

Oof. Fuel on the fire.

Nobody likes to be held hostage. Absolutely nobody likes to be told “this will be better for you, but you don’t have a choice.” The office suite is a very smooth, well oiled set of applications, and that’s in no small way due to user feedback and constant updates.

We buy things to own them though. When you buy muffins from the bake shop, you buy a dozen and expect them to last you a few weeks. If you want to get different flavored muffins each day fresh, well you gotta go to the shop and buy a new muffin each day, that’s your call. The bake shop doesn’t lease muffins, then tell you halfway through the box that they have a better recipe and are reinstalling your blueberry muffins with corn. If you don’t pay your tab, they don’t come to your house and lock your muffins up so you can look but can’t touch.

I digress: I think I agree with you more than I let on, but I can see where the resistance to subscriptions comes from. The benefit to subscription being a constantly refined product and the latest technologies is brilliant, but not having a kill switch is a bit scary.
 
Aside from being a slave to the subscription price gouging that WILL happen, I hate when the new upgrade SUCKS and I have to go along with it.

When your files "upgrade" and you can't go back...its too late to go back and you must trudge forward and half your energy is spent dealing with that damn stupid upgrade and your so backed up with work you have no choice but march forward knowing its an uphill battle till "they" figure out the patches and bugs to get it right again. By that time you've already figured out some work arounds and now yo have to figure out how to get the damn things t work again.
 
I digress: I think I agree with you more than I let on, but I can see where the resistance to subscriptions comes from. The benefit to subscription being a constantly refined product and the latest technologies is brilliant, but not having a kill switch is a bit scary.

Hey, no prob, I get it and that comment wasn't really directed at you but more of those that "support" avoid subscription services. Two more comments, then I'm done:

1. Over about 4 years, there has been almost nothing in the way of upgrades that "threw" me. If anything, they have helped me on a few occaisions.

2. Think about it this way (again, more to other folks than you): What if software companies had been "business smarter" and subscriptions had been the only option from the get-go. Would anyone be complaining? Think about all the other things you have subscriptions for: magazines, cell service, internet, cable, leases, etc. Any time you spend "moaning" about that is time you lost doing more productive things (as I would if I kept on this forum post longer, which is why I'm done now!). I don't think I've ever seen anyone post "Hey, I never thought about it that way, I'm going to change my mind!" (yes, that includes me). That's why I consider posting more as entertainment than education.

Again, good luck,
The Dude
 








 
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