Office 365 Professional

If you are wondering how the Microsoft 365 Apps vs Office 365 ProPlus vs Business compare with its predecessor, the O365 plans, we have you covered. In this post, we explain how these plans map with the new subscriptions.

Office 365 Professional Software
Office 365 Professional Plus

Recently, Microsoft has announced the new product names for the Office 365 Business plans, and they came into effect from April 2020. Office 365 is basically categorized into three principal categories i.e., Personal, Business, and Enterprise.

Microsoft 365 is the productivity cloud designed to help each of us achieve what matters, in our work and life, with best-in-class Office apps, intelligent cloud services, and advanced security. What happened to Office 365 business plans? Office 365 business plans are now Microsoft 365 business plans. New name, same great value, same price. If you would like to update Office but can't open any of your Office apps, try repairing your Office suite. Support for Office 2010 ended on October 13, 2020 Upgrade to Microsoft 365 to work anywhere from any device and continue to receive support. Microsoft 365 includes everything you know in Office 365, including best-in-class Office apps, intelligent cloud services, and advanced security. With Microsoft 365 subscription plans you get the premium Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access (Publisher and Access are available on PC only). In addition, you get 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage, advanced security.

The names are changed for the Office 365 Business subscriptions. It is essential to understand the significance of Office 365. It offers organizations a boost in productivity. Moreover, it presents collaboration software like Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and Office.

Microsoft 365 Apps vs Office 365 ProPlus vs Business – What’s the change?

Old Name	New Name
Office 365 Business Essentials	Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Office 365 Business Premium	Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Microsoft 365 Business	Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Office 365 Business	Microsoft 365 Apps for business
Office 365 ProPlus	Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise

Comparison of Microsoft 365 Business Essentials vs Business Premium vs Business:

Features	Microsoft 365 Business Essentials	Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Microsoft 365 Business
Office Applications Included	–	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook
Services Included	Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams	Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams	OneDrive
Maximum number of users	300	300	300
Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for Windows or Mac	Not Included	Included	Included
Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for iOS, Android devices (up to 5 phones and 5 tablets)	Included	Included	Included
Microsoft Teams – Desktop and mobile versions	Included	Included	Not Included
Email & calendaring (50 GB mailbox for email hosting with custom email domain address)	Included	Included	Not Included
1 TB OneDrive for Business file storage and sharing	Included	Included	Included
Exchange Online Protection – from spam, malware, and other threats	Included	Included	Not Included
Custom permission for accessing crucial business information	Included	Included	Included
Password policy creation	Included	Included	Included
Microsoft Teams for scheduling and planning	Not Included	Included	Not Included
Microsoft Bookings for managing appointments	Not Included	Included	Not Included
MileIQ for real-time precise on-the-go mileage tracking	Not Included	Included	Not Included
24/7 Support for end users via phone, chat, and email	Included	Included	Included
99.9% uptime guarantee	Included	Included	Included
Licensed for commercial use	Included	Included	Included
Money-back guarantee	15 days	15 days	15 days
Price	$5 user/month (annual commitment)	$12.5 user/month (annual commitment)	$8.25 user/month (annual commitment)

The recent changes are just the name changes, and there are no other changes to features or pricing in each license.

When Microsoft used both the terms i.e., Microsoft 365 and Office 365, it becomes very confusing for consumers. Therefore, the new names are assigned that are straight forward because now it is all about Microsoft 365.

You may be currently using the Office 365 Business Essentials, Business Premium, or the Microsoft 365 Business. For these, the only change is that you get your subscription updated to the new name. Except for that, there is no other change.

It is important to note that Office 365 Business and Office 365 ProPlus both became Microsoft 365 Apps. At many places, you will find the use of “for business” and “for enterprise” terms to differentiate between the two.

The Enterprise plans have no changes. Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 have no modifications. Also, the Government (G1, G3 & G5), Academic (A1, A3 & A5), and Firstline (F1 & F3) SKUs have no changes. There have been some recent changes in the Firstline offerings as updated on 1st April 2020.

The reason behind the change:

When Office 365 was launched in 2011, it was the champion product of Microsoft’s cloud business. It gave organizations a simple yet efficient way to attain the benefits of the cloud. Moreover, it revolutionized the workplace with digital tools to facilitate contemporary, mobile collaboration between the workforce.

Almost after 10 years of this launch, Microsoft 365 is the latest productivity and security solution in a suite of offerings. It also includes Office 365. It adds crucial security and management products to the package. This helps the organizations to access a comprehensive package of tools for the boost in productivity, security, collaboration, and IT management.

With the new name i.e., Office 365, renamed to Microsoft 365, Microsoft is focusing on Microsoft 365 and swaying away from the focus from purely Office 365. It is believed that this renaming is the start, and it may lead to some more name changes in the future.

One more reason behind the name change is Microsoft wants its products to reveal the range of features and advantages in the subscription. Microsoft 365 is an incorporated set of applications and services that allows AI and other innovative office productivity features to work for your business. Microsoft is always looking for ways to simplify the tasks for customers. The renaming idea is designed to help customers quickly find the plan they need and get back to their business.

Now let’s get into the brief of what it means by Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 Business.

What are Microsoft 365 Apps?

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise is known to be a highly productive and secure solution that offers Office productivity tools for enterprises. It enables your teams to work collectivity and seamlessly from anywhere, anytime.

What is Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus?

Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus is an Office version accessible through your active Microsoft Office 365 subscription. It is installed from the cloud on your local computer, and devices like smartphones and tablets. To use this plan, the users need an Office 365 account and an Internet connection to verify any assigned licenses and begin using the applications suite.

What is Microsoft 365 Business?

Microsoft 365 Business is popular as a subscription service, allowing you to run your organization in the cloud, and Microsoft looks after the IT for you. This plan helps for managing devices, protection against security threats, and offers the latest business software.

Concluding Note:

To help customers easily find the plan and streamline the business operations, Microsoft has assigned these new names to its plans. Now you can avoid confusion with the old and new names of the programs and make a better decision.