Microsoft Office 365 is a series of subscription-based services available from Microsoft as a part of their Microsoft Office product range. The most common service is Microsoft Office 365 commercial service. This offers businesses the opportunity to access a range of business applications ranging from accounting and finance, supply chain management, customer relationship management, information management, HR and healthcare and web-based GP, in one go. This means there are no separate subscriptions needed for each application. This means that organizations can get all the functionality they require, for one low monthly fee.
With Microsoft Office 365 commercial service, users have access to powerful enterprise-class apps including Sharepoint, Business Information Services, eConnect, Knowledge Center, Microsoft Teams, Excel Workbook, Power Point and PowerPoint. These apps work together to give users the chance to collaborate across multiple locations, time zones and devices. These collaboration tools make it possible to access work anywhere an employee is. The cloud-based apps to store data on a secure server that is always available, so you do not need to backup data. This is in contrast to the traditional on-premises software like Sharepoint and Lotus Notes.
Microsoft Office 365 commercial offers access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
In addition to these, the suite of core apps also includes Internet Explorer and the Microsoft Groove Music player. With these, users are able to work across multiple devices, be they personal or business machines. Microsoft Teams is the communication and task management platform within the suite of apps while Microsoft Business Solutions is for those looking for solutions to business issues. With these, you are able to work with partners, clients and colleagues across different work groups and work spaces.
With its cloud-based architecture, Microsoft Office 365 offers access to the Office 365 apps through a data network. This means that when a user logs on to the service, they are given the option to download and install the required apps on their computer. The data network therefore connects five computers per user to the Office 365 service.
There are several differences between the on-premise version of Microsoft Office and the cloud-based version.
For example, the user is not restricted to specific hardware like they are in the on-premise software. Also, with Office 365 Education, users can take advantage of the cloud storage feature. They can save the files on a subscription basis and access them from any computer that has an internet connection. Furthermore, the feature also allows the user to have access to any document type – not just Word documents.
Furthermore, there is no need to install any additional peripherals like printers, scanners and mobile phones as they do with the Office installed on the user’s machine. The most notable difference between the two is that the latter are more enterprise-oriented and provide better collaboration tools. On the other hand, the former have a small form factor, are easy to use and integrate with multiple devices. Cloud collaboration tools such as Box Office or by Lotus requires installation of the client-server application. On the other hand, Microsoft office online offers a browser-based client-server model which is easier to manage and faster.
It was also recently announced that Microsoft Office 365 will receive its first update since its introduction. It will be available for free to existing users starting on October 2021. The upgrade will be available for personal users later on. This should be great news for all those who have invested in the product but are still using the older versions. Microsoft is encouraging organizations to try out the suite to make them realize its full potential, especially those who are involved in large-scale projects.
- The Outlook Express for Mac is included in the suite but only for test purposes at this point in time.
- Business users will have to purchase the software separately to use the offline version.
- No release date has been set for the Windows version of Outlook Express, however it is being predicted that it will arrive in the fall of 2021.
