Microsoft recently began “retiring” the product name “Office 365” and replacing it with “Microsoft 365.” While Microsoft 365 has been available for a while and included Office 365, we went on a mission to figure out just what Microsoft 365 means today. 

TL;DR: Office 365 is now referred to as Microsoft 365, which, depending on your plan, includes much more than Office 365 offered initially. As Microsoft 365 used to include Windows 10, Office 365, and Enterprise Mobility and Security, there are now multiple flavors of Microsoft 365. If you’re looking for a full end-to-end digital productivity suite that includes an operating system and online collaboration tools protected by Microsoft’s 1-billion-dollar-a year investment toward mobility and security, then Microsoft 365 Enterprise is for you. 

 

Office 365 = Microsoft 365 

Office 365 previously referred to the productivity suite that we know and love including, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. This productivity suite is now “Microsoft 365” broken into three primary flavors: one for home, business, and enterprise. The term “Office 365” seems to be slowly deprecating, but we still see it in many places (including our own active Microsoft 365 account). 

If you’re already a Microsoft customer, you’ve likely seen a change in your plan’s name. For example, formerly, we were on an Office 365 E3 plan, and with the rebranding, we have been moved to Microsoft 365 business premium plan.  

What does Microsoft 365 include? We hate to say it; the answer is a resounding, “it depends.” 

 

Microsoft 365  

Microsoft now describes Microsoft 365 as: “…a complete, intelligent solution for our commercial customers to empower everyone to be creative and work together, securely.”  

To fully understand what Microsoft 365 offers, we found it’s best to start with what type of plan you’re seeking:

Step 1: Do you plan to use your account for home, education, or business? 

Step 2: If you are seeking a business plan, you currently have four options. These business plans are mainly the productivity suite and do not include Windows 10. 

Step 3: If you are seeking an end-to-end digital productivity suite including an operating system along with collaboration tools like Teams, Yammer, and SharePoint that is fully secure and locked down, then Microsoft 365 Enterprise is likely for you. 

 

Microsoft 365  Enterprise

Microsoft 365 Enterprise breaks down further to 3 main pillars. Windows 10, Office 365 (productivity suite), and enterprise mobility and security. We expect that the Office 365 pillar to merge quickly into the overall Microsoft 365 Enterprise suite. 

 

Microsoft 365 for everyone

So, what does Microsoft 365 mean to us here at PixelMill? We focus on building digital workspaces that help organizations collaborate and communicate effectively. We have chosen Microsoft 365 as our core platform. So when we say we’re building digital workspaces on Microsoft 365, we’re mainly looking at the interlocking productivity suite that includes collaboration and workflow tools like Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Power Automate, Forms, Power Apps, Stream, and more.  

What Microsoft 365 means depends on you, the user. What licensing your team requires depends on the toolsets they need. Licensing can be tricky, but you can learn more about them here.

We hope this has helped shine some light on what continues to be a foggy topic. One thing is clear, however! Microsoft is continuing to invest in making their solutions meet the user’s unique and specific needs.  

 

Need help uncovering what tools are right for your team? Talk to one of our Microsoft 365 experts today!