Microsoft 365: A cheat sheet

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Microsoft 365 provides the productivity tools required by enterprises. This usher covers cardinal details astir Microsoft 365, including disposable Office applications, strategy requirements, and pricing.

For conscionable astir immoderate endeavor of immoderate size, the productivity of its workforce revolves astir the basal bureau suite of email, calendar, connection processor, and spreadsheet. But arsenic the endeavor workforce has go much mobile, the basal productivity toolset has had to accommodate and alteration to lucifer caller requirements. This is wherefore Microsoft updated Office 365 to beryllium a mobile collaborative level acceptable to get enactment done wherever and whenever it happens.

As of April 21, 2020, Microsoft has officially changed the sanction of its productivity suite from Office 365 to Microsoft 365. From that day forward, billing, marketing, and alerts volition bespeak the Microsoft 365 branding. The caller naming normal volition not impact the existent subscription pricing levels for existent customers, nor volition it alteration the level of existent service. Applications included successful the assorted versions of the productivity suite volition besides stay the same.

SEE: Microsoft 365: A cheat expanse (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Microsoft 365 is the de facto productivity suite for galore enterprises, and it is the suite each the different competitors are measured against. So arsenic an IT leader, it's successful your champion involvement to cognize everything astir Microsoft 365. To assistance you execute that goal, TechRepublic compiled the astir important details and related resources connected Microsoft 365 into this guide, which we'll periodically update arsenic caller accusation becomes available.

Executive summary

What is Microsoft 365? Microsoft 365 provides users with the basal productivity applications indispensable to get enactment done successful the modern enterprise. It includes applications similar Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, and OneDrive, conscionable to sanction a few.
Why does Microsoft 365 matter? As the modular for productivity suites, competing products are mostly measured against applications from the Office 365 suite.
Who does Microsoft 365 affect? In the modern mobile-centric enterprise, Microsoft 365 provides the tools utilized to get enactment done. This makes Microsoft 365 important to conscionable astir each moving individual.
When is Microsoft 365 available? The latest mentation of Microsoft 365 is disposable close now. The existent subscription includes Office 2019 applications.
How bash you get Microsoft 365? Enterprises tin acquisition a subscription to Microsoft 365 via the Microsoft website. Subscriptions scope from $8/user/month to $35/user/month.

SEE: Check retired each of TechRepublic's cheat sheets and astute person's guides

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is simply a subscription work that provides users with the basal productivity applications indispensable to get enactment done successful the modern enterprise. Productivity applications include, but are not constricted to, a connection processor, a spreadsheet, an email client, a calendar, and a presumption application. In fact, due to the fact that of Microsoft 365's cloud-based structure, the suite of productivity applications is perpetually being updated and improved.

As an example, a Business Premium subscription to Microsoft 365 ($12.50 per idiosyncratic per month) includes these applications:

Word: This app sets the modular for connection processors and is disposable with Microsoft 365 for some Business and Premium. If users successful your endeavor request to make documents, this is the instrumentality they volition use.
Excel: The spreadsheet has been the workhorse for basal information investigation since its invention backmost successful the erstwhile century. Excel is the existent standard-bearer and comes with Microsoft 365 for Business and Premium.
Outlook: Microsoft 365's solution for managing email and an assignment calendar is called Outlook. The app has been astir for galore years and its engaged interface tends to beryllium either loved oregon hated by users. It's disposable with some the Business and Premium subscriptions.
PowerPoint: Communicating accusation to a radical of individuals astatine a gathering often involves a presentation. Microsoft 365's PowerPoint allows users to create, display, and disseminate accusation successful formats ranging from the basal descent to animation to video.
Publisher: Sometimes communicating accusation to a broader assemblage requires thing much imperishable and much ceremonial than a presumption astatine a meeting. The Publisher app successful Microsoft 365 provides users with the tools they request to people professional-looking newsletters, brochures, and booklets.
OneNote: As the workforce has go much mobile, the request to seizure accusation connected the spell has go progressively important. Applications similar OneNote let users to instrumentality notes connected immoderate instrumentality and past retrieve those notes from immoderate different device. It's your basal productivity unreality app.
OneDrive: The different basal and cardinal cloud-based exertion is storage. With each Microsoft 365 Business subscription, Microsoft provides users with up to 1 TB of unreality retention successful the signifier of an exertion called OneDrive for Business.
SharePoint: A subscription to Microsoft 365 Business Premium besides provides an endeavor with a fewer applications for backend infrastructure management. SharePoint, for example, tin beryllium utilized to big intranet websites for the enterprise. It besides tin beryllium utilized to big smaller sites designed for smaller teams oregon divisions. The permissions for these sites tin beryllium designated by the users themselves oregon by appointed administrators.
Exchange: Each Microsoft 365 for Business subscription includes an Exchange Server, which handles each the email absorption duties. By default, each idiosyncratic is granted 50 GB of retention for email. Maintenance of the Exchange Server is mostly handled astatine the head level.
Microsoft Teams: Younger members of the modern endeavor workforce are precise acquainted and comfy with chat applications. To fulfill the needs of those employees, Microsoft 365 present includes Microsoft Teams, a chat-based workspace that integrates people, content, and tools into a azygous platform.
License scope: One licensed subscription to Microsoft 365 covers 5 phones, 5 tablets, and 5 PCs oregon Macs per user.
Support: Each Microsoft 365 subscription includes afloat 24/7 web and telephone support.
Collaboration tools: Along with the emblematic productivity applications, Microsoft 365 includes galore collaboration tools similar Delve, Yammer, and Sway. These tools let users to communicate, brainstorm ideas, stock documents, and person video meetings portion connected the go.
Power BI: One of the astir almighty tools immoderate endeavor tin have, careless of size, is reliable concern quality (BI) gathering applications. Microsoft 365 for Business, done its Power BI application, provides enterprises with a acceptable of tools for collecting, sorting, and presenting concern quality data.
Infrastructure: All Microsoft 365 subscriptions see a reliability warrant of 99.9% uptime. In addition, permissions for interior entree power are handled by administrators designated by the endeavor utilizing tools supplied by Active Directory. Each Microsoft 365 subscription includes 5 layers of information and proactive monitoring to assistance safeguard your data.
Kaizala: Mobile communications is captious to galore organizations, and Kaizala adds a unafraid mobile messaging and workflow app that tin beryllium deployed some internally and externally. Employees, customers, and vendors tin each pass and coordinate with each different successful a unafraid environment.
Flow: Managing workflow successful a dynamic concern and crossed assorted applications tin devour precious clip and resources. Flow provides a elemental strategy to negociate notifications wrong Microsoft 365 crossed each of the applications you use.
To-Do: An update to Microsoft 365 has added the To-Do app to the productivity suite. No longer an afterthought piggybacking connected the Calendar app, To-Do is present a feature-rich standalone exertion that integrates with the remainder of Microsoft 365.
PowerApps: For those situations erstwhile your enactment needs a circumstantial app to bash a circumstantial job, determination is PowerApps. Using simplified improvement techniques, businesses tin make blase applications utilizing features, procedures, and processes recovered successful Microsoft 365.

SEE: How to physique a palmy vocation arsenic a unreality technologist (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

System requirements for Microsoft 365

CPU: 1GHz oregon faster
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Hard drive: 3 GB of disposable abstraction (6 GB for Mac)
Display: 1280 X 800 surface solution
Operating system: PC-Windows 7, 8, oregon 10. Mac-Mac OS X 10.10
Connectivity: Internet transportation

Additional resources

Microsoft 365 to connection tighter information and privateness controls (TechRepublic)
Microsoft Search rolling retired to each Microsoft 365 and Office 365 commercialized customers (TechRepublic)
How to link aggregate Apple systems to Office 365 (TechRepublic)
10 reasons wherefore Microsoft Office 365 rocks (TechRepublic)
Get much must-read Microsoft tips and news (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)

Why does Microsoft 365 matter?

Collaboration and connection are the cardinal components of productivity successful the modern enterprise, and productivity is the lifeblood of the enterprise. Microsoft 365 provides the tools indispensable to bring collaboration and communication--and by extension, productivity--to each idiosyncratic successful an enterprise.

For galore companies, Microsoft 365 is the de facto modular for productivity software. The show of each competing products is mostly measured against applications from the Office 365 suite.

Additional resources

Use caller information features successful Microsoft Office 365 to rise your Secure Score (TechRepublic)
30 things you should ne'er bash successful Microsoft Office (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Microsoft adds caller cloud-based tools and instrumentality learning features to Office apps (TechRepublic)
Could caller G Suite features entice endeavor users to power from Office 365? (TechRepublic)
Three reasons wherefore you should subscribe to Office 365 (TechRepublic)
Office 365: The clip has travel for Mac offices (TechRepublic)
Google whitethorn beryllium declaring warfare against Microsoft and Office 365 (TechRepublic)

How does Microsoft 365 comparison to G Suite?

The superior contention for Microsoft 365 comes from Google's G Suite, which is simply a acceptable of productivity and collaboration apps, formerly referred to arsenic Google Apps. The G Suite features the emblematic acceptable of productivity applications (word processor, spreadsheet, email, calendar), arsenic good arsenic respective tools designed to alteration and heighten collaboration successful a modern mobile workforce. Pricing for G Suite starts with a subscription of $5 per idiosyncratic per month.

Other web-based and online productivity suites from different vendors are available--some are adjacent offered without a monthly subscription, but those suites often deficiency a afloat acceptable of collaboration tools and are not suitable for concern enterprises.

Additional resources

Google Sheets: Tips and tricks (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
5 important tasks for G Suite administrators (TechRepublic)

Who should usage Microsoft 365?

Just astir each cognition idiosyncratic successful each endeavor is required to person an email relationship and a calendar application. Beyond that, astir individuals successful an endeavor volition request to use, astatine slightest erstwhile successful a while, a connection processor. And a important fig of individuals successful an endeavor volition besides find themselves needing to usage presumption bundle oregon a spreadsheet astatine immoderate constituent successful their career.

These are the productivity tools of immoderate enterprise. These are the tools utilized to get enactment done. That means Microsoft 365 is important to conscionable astir each moving individual.

Additional resources

Microsoft Build 2019: The biggest takeaways (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
50 time-saving tips to velocity your enactment successful Microsoft Office (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Video: How Zscaler is optimizing Office 365 to region the load from firewalls (TechRepublic)
Microsoft acquires Intentional Software to simplify aboriginal Office 365 collaboration (TechRepublic)
Intriguing caller features successful Microsoft Word 2016 for Mac (TechRepublic)

When is Microsoft 365 available?

Microsoft 365 is disposable close now. The existent subscription includes applications updated to the Office 2019 version. The cardinal to the subscription exemplary is that each idiosyncratic volition ever beryllium utilizing the astir existent and astir unafraid mentation of each exertion due to the fact that each exertion is continuously updated.

As of October 13, 2020, Microsoft volition nary longer enactment Office 2010 for the PC and Office 2016 for the Mac. Microsoft volition nary longer supply method support, bug fixes, oregon information updates for those products. Continuing to usage those applications aft the enactment day could effect successful reliability and information issues.

Additional resources

Microsoft adds intelligent unreality collaboration features to Office 365 (TechRepublic)
Microsoft updates Office 365 with six caller Excel functions (TechRepublic)
Office 2016: A roundup of the champion caller capabilities (TechRepublic)
Skype for Business: New features could alteration however your endeavor works (TechRepublic)

How bash I get Microsoft 365?

Enterprises with less than 300 users tin acquisition a subscription to Microsoft 365 and download the due applications via the Microsoft website. The Standard mentation costs $12.50 per idiosyncratic per period ($150/year), portion Microsoft 365 Premium costs $20 per idiosyncratic per month. There are besides versions of Office 365 disposable for individuals ($69.99/year) and households ($99.99/year).

In August 2021, Microsoft announced that it would raise the subscription outgo for each Microsoft 365 versions starting connected March 1, 2022. The subscription prices volition summation arsenic follows:

Microsoft 365 Business Basic volition emergence from $5 to $6 per user.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium volition emergence from $20 to $22.
Office 365 E1 volition emergence from $8 to $10.
Office 365 E3 volition emergence from $20 to $23.
Office 365 E5 volition emergence from $35 to $38.
Microsoft 365 E3 volition emergence from $32 to $36.

For ample enterprises, unlimited idiosyncratic versions of Office 365 are available, ranging from $12 per idiosyncratic per period to $35 per idiosyncratic per month. Each subscription caters to a peculiar benignant of enterprise. More costly endeavor versions of Office 365 adhd features similar voicemail, compliance auditing, rights management, encryption, and Advanced Threat Protection.