Frequently Asked Questions - Microsoft Business Productivity Suite (BPOS)
First off, the Business Productivity Online Suite is often called BPOS for short. Much easier to say, but it only helps if you know what it is.
BPOS is an offering by Microsoft as a Hosted Solution- also called Software as a Service (SaaS). Enough acronyms, we don't want to scare you off.
BPOS is a suite, as the name implies, of several different products:
- Exchange Online
(Email/Collaboration) - SharePoint Online
(Managed Document Repository) - Office Communications Online
(Real time communcation and Instant Messaging) - Office Live Meeting
(Online meeting, webinars. Staff only or host events for clients/customers)
While each can be purchased ala carte- Microsoft has seductively priced the collective as a suite.
As a Hosted Service, everything is managed and stored online by MIcrosoft. Email, for instance, can either be accessed via a web browser or using Outlook if preferred. Documents (ie: Word docs and Excel spreadsheets) can be stored in a SharePoint share. It's still required you have desktop licenses of MIcrosoft Office to view/edit the files, but their organization, management, and access control is done through SharePoint Online. Similar are the services of Office Communcations Online and Office Live Meeting.
PDF versionYou can start a BPOS/Online Services trial account here.
No credit card or payment is required to start a trial. Your trial will grant you 20 user licenses for 30 days.
Demo accounts provide you full functionality to experiment and play with the full Business Productivity Online Suite. After 30 days you are required to purchase active license subscriptions.
If you have questions during your demo, please don't hesitate to contact us whether for questions or support. And if you'd like a tour or demo we'd love to give you one!
Yes!
Microsoft offers several utilities for BPOS to keep your on-site Windows Servers in sync with Microsoft Online Services OR to migrate completely to BPOS. Users, and their settings will be kept syncronized between your self-managed servers and MIcrosoft's servers whether users are added through your Active Directory or through the Microsoft Online Customer Portal.
Links are provided to download these migration utilities from within your BPOS administrative login.
Yes!
Microsoft has partnered with FrontBridge to provide email filtering for spam, viruses, and malware in general. Account administrators can configure how mail is filtered, where and if it gets quarantined, and if users are permitted access to the quarantine.
No.
When properly configured some users can have their email and collaboration services hosted by Microsoft Online Services while others by your onsite self-managed servers. If not technical, we do not advise doing this yourself. We'd be happy to assist you if you need help in such a setup. Use our Contact Form to inquire.
Most definitely yes.
This requires careful configuration and synchronization between your local Exchange Server and BPOS, but BPOS is designed to support this functionality.
The Deskless Worker option of Microsoft Online Services is a scaled down version of the full Business Productivity Online Suite.
Deskless Worker includes:
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online (READ ONLY)
In contrast to the full BPOS bundle, there is no Office Communications Online or Office Live Meeting. Likewise, users licensed as Deskless Worker can access SharePoint repositories but not participate in editing files. All access will be read-only- perfect for contracts, sales sheets, and reports.
Access to Exchange Online, either via Outlook or a web interface (OWA), is fully functional including collaboration features of Email, Calendaring, Contacts, and Tasks.
As insinuated by the name, the Deskless Worker is great for sales people on the road, or road-warriors in general.
This is the primary location where your Microsoft Online Services licenses are purchased and managed.
In most circumstances your Microsoft Parnter (ie: Web-Kong) will manage this for you. Every Microsoft Online Services account will have access to this portal where you may increase or decrease the number and types of Microsoft Online Services licenses you require.
The link for this portal is:
The primary location to manage user accounts and services is the Microsoft Online Serivce Administrator Center.
https://admin.microsoftonline.com/
Often this may be managed by your Microsoft Partner (ie: Web-Kong). Each Microsoft Online Services account will initially have one administrator assigned to their account. Additional administrators may be assigned if necessary. The administrator account has the ability to create user accounts and assign licenses to them. They may also manage storage assigned to user accounts.
In addition the administrator may create SharePoint portals and/or assign accounts with this privilege.
When using the Microsoft Business Productivity Suite (BPOS), or Online Services it is not necessary to use their "Online Services Sign In" application, although when used it offers the convenience of not having to repeatedly enter your password while also providing shortcuts to commonly used services.
It can be downloaded directly from the Microsoft Website. Just download and install.
Yes!
Support for Apple Mac Operating Systems has been made available and is fully supported by Microsoft Online Services Sign In for Mac.
As an online Hosted Service (also known as Software as a Service/SaaS) BPOS is technically accessible from any Operating System with an Internet connection and a web browser, but the Sign In application permits a more seamless experience with desktop integration and accessibility.
Also available is the Microsoft Online Services Macintosh Support Service Description form the Microsoft Download Center.
The Microsoft Online Services Sign In application provides a simple, single sign-in point for Microsoft Online Services.
- A single access point for services. Instead of signing in to each service separately, you can sign in to all your services at one time with the Sign In application, and then access your services any number of times during that sign-in session. Without the Sign In application, you would have to provide your user name and password each time you access a service. Each service that you can use is listed in the Sign In application so that you can click a service and access it. Your Online Services depend on the licenses that your organization has assigned to you.
- Automatic configuration of applications. The Sign In application automatically configures the applications on your computer that can work with Microsoft Online Services. If you have more than one version of an application, only the latest version is configured. This auto-configuration feature helps you use those applications with your Online Services, which saves time and trouble for you, and reduces support time for your service administrator. If necessary, you can manually reconfigure your applications at any time from the Sign In application.
- Password management. You can change your service password in the Sign In application. If your password expires, the Sign In application alerts you and offers instruction on how to update the password.
- Sign In options. You can set your preferences to start the Sign In application automatically and sign you in each time you start your computer, and to alert you when a new version of the Sign In application or a new application configuration becomes available.
- Localization. The Sign In application is available in English, German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish. A service administrator might deploy the Sign In application directly to your computer or direct you to a location where you can install it yourself. One installation point is the Downloads tab of My Company Portal.
Note: If you download the Sign In application from My Company Portal, you must turn off the pop-up blocker in your Web browser
| Operating system | Macintosh OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Macintosh OS X 10.4 (Tiger) |
| System software | Java client 1.4.2 |
| Browser software | Safari 3 (on Macintosh OS X 10.5 or Macintosh OS X 10.4) |
| E-mail client software | Microsoft Entourage® 2008 Microsoft Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition Microsoft Entourage 2004 |
| Authentication software | Online Services Sign In application |
| Improved access to SharePoint Online | Microsoft Document Connection for Mac |
| Office Live Meeting software | Live Meeting Web Access |
The following global URLs provide access to the appropriate regional portals regardless of where you are located.
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Administration Center |
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My Company Portal |
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Customer Portal |
Your Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access (OWA) URL is determined by the storage location of your Microsoft Online Services data. The storage location is generally the one closest to your company headquarters.
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Asia Pacific (APAC) |
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Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) |
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North America |
Your mobile device URL is determined by the storage location of your Microsoft Online Services data. To connect to Microsoft Exchange Online, your cellular service plan must support Windows Mobile.
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Asia Pacific (APAC) |
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Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) |
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North America |
The Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) offers several licensing options ranging from the full BPOS Suite, to Deskless Workers, to individually licensed Exchange or Sharepoint. It defintely can be intimidating to figure out the best licensing options for your organization- but don't despire, help is available.
Microsoft provides the Microsoft Online Services Discovery Tool. In a survey-like format you'll be asked several questions about your organization, on-site talent, budget, and goals. The results will suggest some options best suited for your needs.
A Windows Live ID is required but can be created for free if you don't already have one.
Microssoft Online Services Discovery Tool: https://www.msbpos.com/
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