Review of Three Cloud Software Applications By Aaron Burns

T HE THREE PIECES OF C LOUD SOFTWARE ARE :

SWAY, YAMMER AND OUTLOOK

Contents Sway ................................................................................................................................................................3

Uses in the Workplace .................................................................................................................... 3 Advantages...................................................................................................................................... 3 Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................. 4 Yammer ...........................................................................................................................................................4

Uses in the Workplace .................................................................................................................... 4 Advantages...................................................................................................................................... 5 Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................. 5 Outlook ...........................................................................................................................................................6

Uses in the Workplace .................................................................................................................... 6 Advantages...................................................................................................................................... 6 Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................. 7 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................................7

Sway Uses in the Workplace Sway is a Microsoft developed application. It is the first piece of cloud based software I have chosen to review. Sway is a presentation creation application allowing the user to make a much more professional looking presentation than the previously ubiquitous power point. Sway is designed to be incredibly user friendly despite the feeling of information overload when you first start using it. This quickly settles as you explore and find your way around the app. The range of ability to alter, add and refurbish your presentation is made so easy due to the sidebar menu that catalogues in numerical order all your additions making it easy to update or omit certain sections. The shipping software also comes with templates that are extremely useful for first time users. The layout section of Sway coupled with the templates allows you to create professional and time saving projects. The layout tab not only lets you change the colour or the vague structure of the page. But also, the positioning of certain images and text blocks. The possibilities with images ranges from slideshows, flipping between pictures and focusing in on certain points. Sway allows greater innovation with headers and sectioning off certain points of the presentation. Not having to deal with the limited size of the slides in power point, Sway allows one contiguous project which allows you to add without need to cut down on your presentation.

Advantages The advantages of Sway come from just how easy it is to set up a sway account (through Microsoft 365) and being able to master the user interface. User interface is the absolute pinnacle of what makes Sway such an advantageous piece of software. Being able to sign up and uses within minutes makes it the most useful piece of presentation software the most useful that I have ever used. Usually when something is made to be user friendly it sacrifices the capabilities of the software in question. However, Sway is not only one of the most user-friendly pieces of software that I have come across. It is also the most extensive in terms of capabilities that are utilisable while still being unfamiliar with the software and only becomes more useful as your experience with the application. Below I have listed out the advantages in simple to examine bullet points. •

Cheap and easy to set up (€7.00/month)

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Microsoft offers free to student and businesses with deals

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Is part of Microsoft 365, so is stored on cloud

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Accessible from any device you use

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Easy to comprehend when unfamiliar

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Only becomes more useful tool with more familiarity

In conclusion of the advantages I would highly recommend using Sway for your presentation needs. Anything can be made look professional and easy to understand with only a few short hours work with Sway depending on how long your presentation is.

Disadvantages The disadvantages of Sway are hard to find but to users they can be extremely confronting, primarily the utilisation of cloud technology in Sway, which is for most a point of added benefit can be a problem for anyone with issues surrounding the cloud based platform of storage and download applications to use at any device. The problems can include simply a bad internet connection rendering the service obsolete. The other may be an issue around using cloud based applications for fear of security problems or perhaps you prefer that all the tools you use are available to you always. The only other problems that I can think of that come with sway are the usual problems that come with new software being used. Information over load and getting lost in your first attempt creating an unease around using the application extensively in case of making a similar mistake. Sway allows easy you to easily catalogue your progress on the side bar, but some see that as excessive and infringing when it comes to creating a presentation. •

Requires a stable internet connection to utilise

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Information overload

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Overwhelming decision making

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Easy to get lost at first

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Some prefer less choice

Overall Sway’s advantages I feel in a business environment out way the disadvantages, perhaps in the home environment where a user’s own personal preferences for software may be a cause for the disadvantages to out way to advantages.

Yammer Uses in the Workplace Yammer is a Microsoft developed chatting application that allows users to communicate with each other so long as they are logged into their Microsoft accounts. The chatting service offered is extremely useful in an office or working environment. The ease to use and set up at the relative low cost gives cloud based communications. Yammer provides a chat space for the general discussion of all those who are signed up but also crucially for the work place you can create and be invited to groups of fewer peoples if the need is called for it. This is exactly what was required of me and my project teammate when we were assigned a project to do using tools such as Sway and Yammer. Yammer allowed us to create a grow for us to private chat in. We could invite all relevant members of Yammer to our group so as not to be inundated with irrelevant posts by people who weren’t in our group. We could communicate on our projects and upload them for review by the other members who may not have been present when the updates were implemented. When it came to our report this was essential seeing as it required simultaneously working on it from separate locations to meet deadlines.

Advantages The advantages of Yammer come from its Microsoft ubiquitous trait of user interface being as simple as possible. This is not too difficult when regarding a chat room software application. Yammer provides users with the ability to chat with anyone who is present on the Microsoft 365 cloud software. It is extremely easy to find any of your colleagues, this allows you to communicate in a safe and professional format that is promoted within the workspace. Avoiding the problem of unpermitted software being used to communicate between departments. This has cause problems in the past in the workplace. And Yammer helps sidestep that issue all together. It is backed by Microsoft a worldwide establish and trusted cooperation. Also, to further avoid such a predicament Yammer allows you to set up smaller or sub chat rooms for groups who may be assigned to different projects. Or where the material being discuss is not at liberty for the whole organisation e.g. Human Resources. •

Easy to implement into a workplace

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Good for team based projects

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Can communicate with anyone from anywhere with access to cloud

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Cheap and easy to get everyone set up on

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Can encapsulate work spaces for security or efficiently

Yammer provides a quick and easy way to communicate between co-workers, this may be something an employee comes to regret as Yammer could just be used as a substitute for Facebook. However it can be invaluable for creating concise and professional teams to work on certain smaller projects within the company.

Disadvantages The major disadvantages with Yammer are the same with most cloud based applications which require a stable internet connect at all times to use effectivity as a workplace office tool. Yammer offers the ability to chat within the Microsoft 365 login user base. If a group is not created than everyone on that network will be able to view the communications that are taking place which may be confidential. Information that is very sensitive to the company using Yammer as an inter-employee communication application may find that information they have not permitted to be made public has been posted on this site without prior guide lines set out by the company’s own policy. This requires user oversite which may not have been expected of a modern application but regardless if you want the chat site to not be more trouble than it’s worth you will need a moderator. •

Can be used to accidently leak sensitive information

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Requires user oversite from moderator

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Need to encapsulate the employees or else it gets cluttered

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Guide lines need to be established for employee protocol when using Yammer

In conclusion I feel that Yammer doesn’t make as strong a case as a Sway does being considered for use in the workplace. Yammer could just as easily not be implemented into the workplace and employees could continue using their professional emails account which people are more familiar with.

Outlook Uses in the Workplace Outlook is a Microsoft application that comes with the Microsoft 365 package available for most college and universities as well as businesses who pay for it. Outlook is an email application that is useable for anyone within the Microsoft 365 cloud network. Outlook is extremely useful application for when you are part of a professional or educational setting. In helps abstract personal email which people may be willing to be too personal with. A professional or educational environment requires some sort of adequate platform for staff or students to communicate with each other. Outlook provides the exact platform need for any business that wants to provide somewhere where all coworkers can communicate with each other privately. Many companies are not too comfortable to allow employees to use their own personal email addresses. They want something that will abstract them from the personal aspect and place them in a professional setting. Outlook provides just that and more. The ease of finding those you want to communicate within the platform is incredible easy and removes to problems getting in the way of smooth communication between employees.

Advantages The advantages of Outlook are that it is an extremally professional platform with which to use in your business. Microsoft developed a service that can be used for any members of the cloud network. It also allows extensive user admin setting emails for specific employees. A very useful feature I have found through my personal using of Outlook, is the ability to just enter in someone’s name that is on the service and they will show up in the search bar. You do not need to learn their email address. It also gives you the ease to CC them the email at the same time. Not having to learn all the employee email addresses avoids the issues raised from employees constantly communicating with each other through long tracks of email chains. This can lead to sensitive information being made public without prior knowledge. Outlook avoid this by creating the ease of sending emails by just typing in their name than cc your own name and then writing the subject matter of the email in question. •

Professional platform

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Safe and secure development

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Ease of use for employees to implement into their working life

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Avoids long trains of emails

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Gives employees the ability to communicate quickly and effectively

In conclusion I feel that Outlook’s advantages would prove very useful to a company that wants it employee to communicate with each other in a professional content but also in a way that they will feel comfortable and familiar with.

Disadvantages The disadvantages of Outlook in a business come primarily from employee’s unfamiliarity or unwillingness to engage in a new email system which requires a new email address and password to remember. And although Outlook makes remembering such things much easier the initial step to implicate this software application may be what stifles its use in a business. The other problem is that Gmail is a respected platform due to its ubiquitous use around the world and the associated protection that comes with being such a well-supported platform. Employees may feel continue to use their own personal email addresses to communicate with each other if not with official contacts which compromise the security of the businesses information. It is good to keep all communication from within and outside the company on one platform in case a reference needs to be called and it was made with a personal email address. Because the difference between emails services re kept to a minimum in order to keep the whole practise standardised for everyone’s use employees may not see the switch as being worth it. This can lead to the problems discussed previously. •

Employees slow to see benefits

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May considered not using at all

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May lead to inappropriate communication between employees

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Gmail is already extremely popular and ubiquitous

In conclusion Outlook is an extremely efficient piece of software that I would recommend every business implement however, the problems usually rise from employees and users in general being slow to adept it as their main mode of professional communication.

Conclusion For my final conclusion I would like to say that all of the software I have just reviewed comes highly recommended form me. All have found all of them to be invaluable to me throughout my use of them. Yammer and Outlook for the communication between me, fellow students and lectures. Sway was used for a presentation and made the process much easier and the outcome better. These cloud software applications should be implemented into any business looking to create a professional and practical relationship between employees and staff