Last week Microsoft made a big splash at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) annual conference, showcasing its comprehensive plan to help healthcare providers of all sizes meet increasing productivity and security demands; improve mobility, collaboration and communication; control ever-escalating costs; and focus on patient-centered care.  

Microsoft also announced a number of healthcare organizations last week including FHI 360, Gwinnett Hospital System Inc. Kindred Healthcare, Inc and Mihills Webb Medical who've selected Office 365 to help improve the delivery of services to their customers. Office 365 is particularly appealing to healthcare organizations because it is the first and only major cloud business productivity solution to address United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations.  In addition, Microsoft has taken the additional step of offering HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to customers.

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About 20 percent of what we do each year involves alpine rescue missions. In fact, Air Zermatt holds the record for the highest-elevation air rescue in history-23,000 feet. Obviously, to perform these daring missions, our pilots and crews need to have amazing skill and years of training. But they also need to have accurate navigation and flight plan information at their fingertips. That's where Office 365 comes in.

We used to keep all of our safety manuals, navigation charts, and other kinds of vital information on paper. Pilots would carry big binders with them on board the aircraft. These documents constantly needed to be updated, and tracking all of the changes made to paper-based files took time away from other important tasks. It also meant that employees needed to be physically at the air base to access the current version of important documents.

 

 

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At Microsoft's first-ever Lync Conference last month, Tony Bates, president of the Skype Division of Microsoft, said Microsoft's goal is to rehumanize communications , from the living room to the boardroom. Our communications need to put people first, he said. They need to let people communicate how and when they want. And they need to be simple, convenient and natural. Introducing the New Lync Online The new Lync Online takes a large step in that direction by making virtual meetings almost as simple...

Since 1935, the DHCU Community Credit Union has built its business by cultivating long-term member relationships. Recently, DHCU worked with Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., Symitar division to provide staff with Office 365 cloud-based communication and collaboration tools in an effort to continue the organization's tradition of exemplary member service. With instant messaging, presence information, and reliable out-of-office access to email on different mobile phones, employees working across seven branches can find the people and information they need to work more productively.   

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Caltex Australia needed better communication and collaboration tools to promote productivity and mobility for its dispersed workforce, but it didn't want to upgrade its on-premises solutions. The company decided to implement Microsoft cloud-based business productivity services. We recently spoke to Steve Fox, Chief Information Officer at Caltex, to learn how the company is benefiting.

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Today's post was written by Lance Criscuolo, President, Zyvex Technologies.

At 50 employees, Zyvex is what some people consider a small company, but our business in advanced materials has connected us with some of the largest corporations in the world. As a leader in molecular nanotechnology, we source and develop some of the strongest materials known to man, incorporating them into lightweight structures - to produce things like a stronger baseball bat, a more fuel-efficient racing boat, or aerospace innovations. Just like the products we design, our team is small but mighty, and resourcefulness is key to our success, which is why we chose Office 365 as our communication and collaboration solution.

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Today's post was written by Rance Clouser, Vice President, IS Support Services and Communication

At Advocate Health Care, thinking holistically is core to our mission of meeting the health needs of individuals, families and communities. Our approach to IT is similar. As the healthcare industry evolves and we work to remain competitive, having state-of-the-art technology for our staff of more than 30,000 is key. We wanted a solution that gave us a variety of unified communications capabilities, increased our productivity, and brought our network of hospitals and clinics closer together. With Office 365 we achieve these goals every day. Our staff, associates and physicians are connecting with patients and each other and making a difference at the bedside and beyond.

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Last week, we introduced the new Office for businesses. In this webinar, we'll dive into Office 365 Small Business Premium and show you how 1-10 employees can get best-in-class tools and services. We'll also look at new features and a comparison chart for businesses of all sizes.

Watch the 30-second trailer or click "read more" below to watch the full webinar.

What you will learn at Tuesday's webinar:

• What is an Office subscription?
• New features in Word 2013 and...

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Today, we announced worldwide availability of the new Microsoft Office 365 services for business; the most complete Office cloud service to-date has new features and offerings tailored to meet the needs and budgets of small, medium and large organizations.

Since launching in mid-2011, Office 365 is one of the fastest growing businesses in Microsoft history. We are pleased to welcome new customers the Hamburg Port Authority, Sephora, and Midroc Europe to our growing family. Read on for more about their stories.

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It's been said that "a dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." We're honored to see all of our sweat, determination, and hard work pay off with the great reviews that the new Office has garnered since Microsoft released Office 365 Home Premium to customers last month. 

Already, Office 365 is racking up the awards. PC Magazine gave Office 365 Home Premium its Editors' Choice award, saying "most of the changes are extremely positive." Likewise, ITProPortal gave Office 365 Home Premium its "Best Buy Award," saying it "trounces the competition from Google Docs."

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