Office 365 Prerequisites

Office 365 is a subscription service offering a suite of productivity programs along with online storage and collaboration tools. Over a million companies worldwide and across various industries use Office 365. You might worry that Office 365 will be too hard to learn. This guide will help you understand the best methods for learning Office 365 and what you should study first to make the learning process easier. This way, you’ll be successful however you choose to apply your new skills. 

What is Office 365?

Office 365 (also known as Microsoft 365) is a cloud-based subscription service that includes Microsoft Office’s suite of programs along with other online services such as free cloud storage and web hosting. Since Office 365 functions with the cloud, users always have access to their documents so long as they have an internet connection. The service is compatible with PCs, Macs, tablets, and smartphones.

Microsoft Office is a popular suite of productivity programs that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. These programs are used worldwide by businesses across industries for their ease of use, accessibility, and collaboration features. The programs offer a variety of functions, such as word processing, spreadsheet creation, promotional material design, and team management. Office 365 combines these valuable programs into a single service that offers the advantages of online document sharing. Microsoft Office cloud services include Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange.

Read more about what Office 365 is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Office 365?

Office 365 gives users full access to Microsoft Office’s suite of programs. These include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. These programs allow users to create professional documents and reports, spreadsheets and databases, presentations, emails, and promotional materials. Office 365 also provides Microsoft Office cloud services, including Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange. Businesses worldwide use these programs for workplace productivity, team collaboration, and management. 

Office 365’s collaboration tools allow teammates to edit documents simultaneously in real-time online. Teammates can use the Teams app to text chat with one another and ask questions without leaving their computers. Documents can also be assigned to teammates as tasks and linked in their virtual calendar or Microsoft Planner, making them easily accessible and trackable in their workflow. Documents are shared easily with a link without downloading or emailing files. Office 365 is an essential business asset for facilitating collaboration within and across departments. 

As an online service, Office 365 offers several advantages. Users can access Office 365 from any device without needing the program installed. This enables users to work anywhere they like and prevents them from being chained to any singular device. Files and documents can also be stored online without taking up computer storage. Updates are applied automatically to the software without users needing to download them manually. The online features of Office 365 go a long way toward improving accessibility and usability.

Is Office 365 Easy to Learn?

Office 365 is not difficult to learn. Most users find the interfaces of Microsoft programs easy and intuitive to interact with. Professional courses on individual Microsoft programs last only a day or two, meaning that learning all Office 365 offers should only take a few weeks with guided training. Alternatively, learning on your own could take a few months since you’d have to find resources on your own. However, self-learning is not recommended for advancing your career. If you’re interested in professional Office 365 training, you can attend in-person or live online courses with Noble Desktop.

What to Know Before Learning Office 365

An individual needs to know only a few basic skills before learning Office 365: computer and internet competency. Most people who use a computer already possess these skills. This makes Office 365 a beginner-friendly program that virtually anyone familiar with today’s digital tools can easily learn. 

Basic Computer Skills

Basic computer skills are prerequisites for nearly all Office 365 productivity programs and Microsoft Office professional courses. These skills include using a keyboard and mouse, opening and closing computer applications, and navigating file structures. Individuals lacking these skills will struggle to use Office 365’s essential functions. 

Internet Competency

Knowing how to use and navigate the internet is essential for utilizing Office 365’s online and collaborative features. These skills include accessing the internet, using navigational buttons and URLs, retrieving emails, and performing logins. Individuals without these skills may still be able to learn the basic Microsoft Office programs provided through Office 365 but will struggle with online features. Internet competency is essential for mastery of Office 365.

Any Microsoft Office Program

While not required before learning Office 365, knowing how to use any Microsoft Office program (such as Word or Excel) will make learning Office 365 easier. Microsoft Office programs use similar interfaces and menus. Thus, being familiar with these features means you’ll already possess some knowledge of how Office 365 works.

Learn Office 365 with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers in-person and live online training in Office 365. Courses include training in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. You can choose between individual classes of various skill levels or bootcamps, which offer in-depth, comprehensive learning. When it comes to becoming an expert in a new skill, bootcamps are a fast and affordable alternative to college. Noble Desktop’s classes are small, taught by expert instructors, and include free retake options.

The Excel Bootcamp guides students from beginner to expert techniques. You’ll learn functions, formulas, Pivot Tables, macros, and additional expert tips and tricks. By the end of the course, you’ll be a true Excel master. The PowerPoint Bootcamp is a similar course that provides complete mastery of the program. You’ll start with the basics of customizing images, shapes, text, and animation before moving on to advanced techniques such as template creation, importing charts from Excel, and inserting multimedia. By the end of the course, you’ll be a wizard at creating professional and visually stunning presentations and slideshows.

If you like the idea of the comprehensive learning offered by bootcamps and are looking for further training in Office 365, NYIM is an affiliate school of Noble Desktop. It provides a Complete Microsoft Office Bootcamp that covers the four major programs – Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook.

Key Insights

• Office 365 is easy to learn.
• Prerequisites only include basic computer and internet competency.
• Knowing any Microsoft Office program isn’t required but will prepare you for learning Office 365.
• Once you learn Office 365, you’ll have access to Microsoft Office’s workplace productivity tools and online collaboration features.