1: Security

Starting with one of the most important factors security, which has been the big concern for many companies considering moving to the cloud. Microsoft’s online services have been designed with security in mind. Office 365 applications are accessed through 128-bit SSL/TSL encryption so that if a transmission is intercepted by someone without authorization, they won’t be able to read it. Antivirus signatures are kept up to date, and security measures are applied in accordance with the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing initiative. Exchange Online uses Forefront Online Protection for Exchange (FOPE) to protect mail messages from malware, and it uses anti-spam filtering and antivirus with multiple virus engines. You can read more about the security of Microsoft Online Services here.

Microsoft Online Services or Office 365 as more commonly known is Microsoft’s cloud based online commercial application subscription service which was launched on the 28^th June 2011.
The services take applications such as Exchange, SharePoint and Lync into the cloud, reducing the need for local servers.

All BPOS Users should be aware that within the next 1 - 6 months your company willl be transitioned to Office 365,
We at Apache have recently been transitioned and believe that Microsoft has really streamlined the process,

Generally Microsoft will perform the transition over a weekend to avoid downtime to the business,