On April 21, 2021 Microsoft changed the name of its popular Office 365 Small Business plans to Microsoft 365, leaving many businesses wondering what this means for them. We have summarized everything you need to know about the changes to the Microsoft 365 Plans, including new plan names, what each plan includes and the benefits of the Microsoft 365 Premium Plan.
Office 365 is now Microsoft 365
When Office 365 was launched in 2011, it brought together Microsoft's best-in-class Office apps with new, powerful cloud services that enable employees to be productive wherever they are working. Microsoft 365 was introduced in 2017 and bundled Office 365 with Windows 10 and Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility + Security.
What is Microsoft 365? Microsoft has consolidated their Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Small Business Plans into a single product line under the Microsoft 365 Brand name. These plans are new in name only, and continue to offer small businesses four plans to choose from to increase productivity and scale security as needed to protect against data leaks and cybersecurity threats.
What are the new Microsoft 365 Business Plan Names?
The following graphic provides a side by side comparison showing the former Office 365 plan names and the new Microsoft 365 plan names. Same features, same price, only the plan names have changed.
Here's what you need to know:
What do Microsoft 365 Business Plans Include?
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Formerly known as Office 365 Business Essentials, Microsoft 365 Business Basic does not include Desktop Apps that are installed locally on the device.
- Web and Mobile Office Apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (Plus Access and Publisher for PC only)
- Exchange Online Email
- OneDrive and SharePoint
- Microsoft Teams
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Formerly known as Office 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Business Standard includes Web and Mobile Apps as well as Desktop Apps that are installed locally on the device.
- Web and Mobile Office Apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (Plus Access and Publisher for PC only)Exchange Online Email
- OneDrive and SharePoint
- Microsoft Teams
- Security and Compliance
- Desktop Office Apps (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint Publisher and Access)
- Tasks, Bookings and MileIQ
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Formerly known as Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft 365 Business Premium bundles Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Windows 10 and several premium security features.
- Web and Mobile Office Apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (Plus Access and Publisher for PC only)Exchange Online Email
- Exchange Online Email
- OneDrive and SharePoint
- Microsoft Teams
- Security and Compliance
- Desktop Office Apps (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
- Desktop Apps Publisher and Access
- Tasks, Bookings and MileIQ
- Azure Information Protection
- Intune MDM (Mobile Device Management)
What are the Benefits of Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes advanced security features that are not included in Microsoft 365 Basic or Microsoft 365 Standard. These enhanced security features help organizations defend against advanced cyber threats with sophisticated phishing and ransomware protection.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Features and Benefits:
- Advanced Threat Protection to protect against email threats
- MDM to allow organizations to remotely wipe data from lost or stolen devices
- App Protection for Office mobile apps to restrict copying or saving
- Information Rights Management to restrict forwarding and copying
- Windows Defender to enforce malware protection on Windows 10 devices
- Windows Defender Exploit Guard to protect against data breaches
- Exchange Online Archiving to enable unlimited cloud archive and long term preservation policies
- Intune MDM to secure devices that connect to your data and help keep iOS, Android, Windows and Mac devices safe and up to date.
Organizations have nothing to worry about, Office 365 Business plans are not going away and there are no changes that need to be made! The same Office 365 Business plans remain in place but the plan names have been changed to Microsoft 365.
For more information about Microsoft 365 Business Plans or to learn how IntelliSuite IT Solutions can help you migrate to Microsot 365, Contact IntelliSuite or call us at 877-843-5767. To learn how to protect your business data against cyber security threats, check out our 2020 Small Business Cybersecurity Checklist.
If you are concerned about data security, and want to learn more about best practices for implementing a multi-layered cyber security framework, contact us at 877-843-5767.
