Office 365: Everything You Need to Know

The publisher Microsoft, whose Office suite equips the majority of computing devices worldwide, made a significant shift in the prevailing model with the release of Office 365 in 2011. Alongside the perpetual Microsoft Office license (on-premise), a subscription solution compatible with Windows and Mac (on-demand) has been available since then, combining the power of the Office suite with Cloud-related services. Renamed Microsoft 365 in 2020, the subscription version is available in various plans catering to the needs of organizations, SMEs, large enterprises, and education. There is also a version for individuals, with Office 365 Family (license for 2 to 6 users) and Office 365 Personal (license for 1 user). 

The Office 365 Solution for Businesses

To precisely meet the needs of businesses in terms of functionality, collaboration, and virtual Cloud storage, the on-demand Office 365 offering is available in various configurations. 

Office 365 for SMEs

This range of software includes solutions like Office 365 Business Essentials (renamed Microsoft 365 Business Basic), Office 365 Business Premium (renamed Microsoft 365 Business Standard), and Microsoft 365 Business (renamed Microsoft 365 Business Premium). The Office 365 family also includes the version Office 365 Business (renamed Microsoft 365 Apps for Business).

The entry-level version includes essential Office suite applications for the web (online access via a browser), namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Exchange, and is enriched with collaborative services like Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint. The Standard and Premium versions include, in addition to the web-based applications, the desktop version of Office software for PC and Mac, advanced productivity services like Access, Publisher, and ecosystem management with Microsoft Intune. The Premium solution also offers advanced security, threat protection, and access and data control mechanisms, in addition to the benefits included in the Basic and Standard subscriptions (regular updates, 1 TB of online storage, web and phone support).

Office 365 for Large Enterprises

The Office 365 series for large enterprises comes in four versions: E1, E3, E5, F3. The Office 365 E1 and F3 versions are built on a web-based Office offering, while the E3 and E5 versions include the Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise pack featuring Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Access for Windows in addition to the online Office 365 E1 applications. They also have access to communication and time management applications like Outlook, Exchange, Bookings, and Delve.

Standard across the four versions Office 365 E1, E3, E5, F3 are collaborative services with Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, and Viva Connections, advanced file and content sharing solutions in real-time with OneDrive, Stream, and Sway, and numerous other applications enabling each individual's work to be optimized and access secured.   

Office 365 for Nonprofits

The nonprofit sector benefits from a specific Office 365 offering, with versions A1, A3, A5. The entry-level Office 365 A1 offer is free, commitment-free, and 100% online. It provides access to Office for the Web (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) with an added suite of collaborative services like Exchange, OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint… The A3 and A5 versions have full access to desktop Office applications (including the standard apps plus Publisher and Access for Windows), Office for the Web, and numerous management, security, compliance, and analytics tools. 

The Specificities of 'On-Demand'

The Office 365 suite is an on-demand solution. Unlike the on-premise Microsoft Office 2011, 2019, 2021 versions, it is an annual subscription billed monthly per user. The usage license (for which you receive the code during the first installation) is automatically renewed.

In terms of usage, Office 365 requires the latest generation hardware configurations and constant Cloud access to benefit from Office web applications, collaborative services, and storage spaces. This results in significant resource consumption and a cost of use and ownership that must be managed in a necessarily eco-efficient approach towards a green IT commitment.  

The Advantages of a Hybrid Configuration

IT departments have the opportunity to regain control over publishers and build custom, efficient, and sustainable software architectures through the used perpetual license market. With the Softcorner marketplace, decision-makers can select the licenses they need from used software market based on their functional specifications and purchase licenses at a lower cost, such as the Office 2016, 2019 suite, and install it sustainably on computing devices without needing to invest in expensive latest-generation configurations.

Alongside using their on-premise Office suite, users can equip themselves with specific Office 365 modules to meet needs in collaborative functionalities with Teams, SharePoint…