When did Office 365 change to Microsoft 365?
When did Office 365 change to Microsoft 365?
After 25 years of Microsoft Office, Microsoft merged it with their flagship productivity suite, Microsoft 365. As all part of one package, users could still access all the usual Office apps such as Word and Excel, just from the wider range of other Microsoft 365 products available.
Office has been a staple Microsoft product since 1995 and the changeover was announced in 2020 with the Office 365 name changing to Microsoft 365 on most existing subscriptions. This happened across business, enterprise, and personal subscriptions. In 2022 Microsoft started phasing out most of their products that were still labelled as Office 365. One of the exceptions is the Office Home and Business 2021 which is a one-time purchase still available on the Microsoft store.
What does Microsoft 365 offer in 2024?
Office is still available in Microsoft 365 as a number of different ways, from family packages, to their government Enterprise plans. Microsoft 365 has different tiers to suit the various needs and sizes of organisations that fit in the small and medium business categories. There are differences on how to access the apps you get, depending on the package. For example, the smallest offering of Microsoft 365 Business Basic only lets you use the apps like Outlook through your phone apps and a web browser. The cloud services are still accessible from anywhere, but there is no desktop app.
The Microsoft 365 Business Standard includes the addition of desktop apps, as well as additional tools and productivity assets. The newest operating system of Windows, Windows 12, may bring new features, but for now the latest Windows 11 update brings the Microsoft AI Copilot to enhance the Microsoft 365 experience.
At Fuse, the range of Microsoft 365 offerings in 2024 mean we can build an extremely tailored package to suit your business needs, plus other advantages you can’t get buying directly from Microsoft. These advantages include paying with a debit card or invoice and unlimited backups. Fuse also offer restore and auto discovery features which Microsoft do not. You can find out what extra features we offer here.
How has the transition to Microsoft 365 worked?
From our perspective, the transition away from Office to become Microsoft 365 has been seamless. Microsoft 365 made the changes within their systems so IT support providers like Fuse have only managed the awareness and training aspect.
After the announcement, we made sure our clients were aware of the changes and proactively managed their expectations. Understandably, there were questions about price changes and whether their staff would have access to the Office apps they were used to working with. As Microsoft made no changes to their prices with the move, neither did we. Plus, we were able to prepare end users for the visible brand changes so no one got confused when the updates rolled out.
Through Microsoft 365, Microsoft have created the pinnacle of productivity apps for personal use, educational institutions, governments, and businesses of all sizes. The rebranding of Office into Microsoft 365 has only made the recognition of these highly familiar products easier. As far as usability goes, the change has had no negative impact on end users.
The loss of the Office brand may have come as a shock to those of use who are so used to seeing it in different formats over the years, but without a loss of the actual apps included, the transition has been an easy one. It’s safe to say that over the coming years, established giants in the tech industry, such as Microsoft, will make similar changes with their older products.
About the author
Fuse is a Microsoft Partner, based in Northampton. We help organisations of all sizes to maximise IT efficiencies through the use of Microsoft cloud computing solutions.
