What is Office 365?

Word, Excel, PowerPoint – everyone knows these classic business programs. When the Microsoft Office suite was first launched (back in 1989), it was designed to support key office activities (writing business correspondence, preparing tables, giving presentations). Over the years, it has established itself as the absolute standard program. 30 years later, life without the Office suite is unimaginable – and, this year, everyone is suddenly talking about “Office 365” – but what is it exactly? Is it just a new version of the familiar suite of programs, or something completely different? In this COYO 1mal1 article, we want to explore this question and briefly explain what Office 365 is, how it differs from the “normal” Office suite, and which tools it contains.

What is the difference between Microsoft Office and Office 365?

Let’s assume that you have just bought Microsoft Office (e.g. Office 2019) and have paid a one-off price. As a result, you can use the various programs on the device on which you install them (i.e. one Office = one device). In the current version, these programs are Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. The versions always reflect the date of purchase; if you want an update, you have to pay for it.

By contrast, Office 365 is – to put it simply – a subscription service. You pay a certain amount every month and, in return, receive a collection of different applications for up to five devices per user (or 15 in the Enterprise version). In other words, you can access Office 365 from all your devices. It doesn’t matter whether you use the applications online or install them on your device in “old-school” fashion. Microsoft also keeps its subscribers at the cutting edge with regular updates.

What applications are included with Office 365?

The Microsoft product portfolio now goes well beyond Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Yammer, for instance, is a tool for company-wide networking, Microsoft Bookings is for bookings, Microsoft Swap is used to develop animated presentations, and Skype for Business is a chat and communication tool. OneDrive is a cloud-based storage solution, whereas SharePoint is a platform for data sharing.

The benefit: files are automatically synchronized on all connected devices. You can also share files with your coworkers, allowing you all to access and work on them together from different devices. Work shared is work halved, as they say ... As there are plenty more programs on the list, it’s worth taking a closer look at this huge product portfolio to see which ones you really need.

Office 365 Business vs. Office 365 Enterprise

Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Business – what’s the difference? Broadly speaking, the Business version is a kind of toolbox. This means that you can use the Office applications and cloud-based services available in your suite of programs. The Enterprise solution, on the other hand, constitutes an all-around package, offering not only the applications and cloud-based services but also the latest version of Windows as an operating system and various data security and device management services.

 What are Microsoft’s plans for the future?

Microsoft is currently attempting to bolster its cloud-based business. Starting in 2020, companies will therefore need an Office 365 license in order to receive full support and access in relation to Office 365 services. This also used to be possible via old Office versions.

The trend at Microsoft is therefore clearly heading toward the cloud and away from classic Office. The direction of travel: digital workplaces.