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Microsoft Office 365 becomes Microsoft 365

Microsoft have announced that they are changing their product names for Office 365 Business plans later in the month, mostly assuming the “Microsoft 365” brand.

This does not affect the pricing or what is included, this will not change.

The new product names will go into effect on April 21, 2020.

  • Office 365 Business Essentials will become Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
  • Office 365 Business Premium will become Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
  • Microsoft 365 Business will become Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
  • Office 365 Business and Office 365 ProPlus will both become Microsoft 365 Apps

Why are these changes being made?

This new approach to naming the products and the use of the Microsoft 365 brand is designed to help customers quickly find the plan they need.

Microsoft also want their products to reflect the range of features and benefits that the Microsoft 365 subscription holds. Signifying that Office 365 is more than just Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and although the Office Suite is still core to the Microsoft Productivity Experience, it has come a very long way since then. It now includes an integrated set of apps and services that use artificial intelligence, cloud connectivity and new innovations to work best for businesses.

For small and medium sized businesses this includes new functionalities in Microsoft Teams to ensure you get the best from your meetings and online events, security and identity solutions to safeguard your business and cloud file storage and sharing capabilities so you can collaborate from anywhere. All of which provide great value in helping businesses operate in the current, unforeseen situation we are all facing today.

Microsoft plans to continue to use the Office 365 name for users of the following packages:

  • Office 365 for Enterprise (e.g. E1/E3/E5)
  • Office 365 for First Line Workers
  • Office 365 for Education
  • Office 365 for Government