Microsoft Office 365 is now simply called Microsoft 365!
While you could accuse Microsoft of boring product names, you cannot say they are stagnant. Even the most popular products in the lineup are subject to new naming.
Microsoft Office 365 is now simply called Microsoft 365. It's still the same products, but now sold under a new name.
To understand which of these plans is right for you, consider what apps your users need as well as your overall requirements, such as enhanced security and device management.
Business Plans
Next, take a look at the menu of apps included in each of the business plans. The least expensive plan is Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7.70 user/month). If gives you web and mobile versions of the Office apps you love including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, teams, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint.
Do you want to use desktop versions of Office apps? This is handy if you work without an internet connection. Some desktop versions offer slightly different features or performance than the online versions.
For example, I have found that PowerPoint Online does not always render my presentations that same way as the desktop version. If you need desktop apps, you need to step up to Microsoft 365 Apps for Business ($11.00 user/month).
Would you like the ability to host webinars with attendee registration? These come with Microsoft 365 Business Standard ($16.00 user/month). There are 2 signup versions for Business Standard. If you have a domain of your own such as mycompany.com, you choose Domain Account Sign Up. Simplified Sign Up is for businesses without a domain.
The most powerful business option is Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($28.20 user/month). It offers the full suite of apps just like Business Standard, adding Advanced Threat Protection and Device Management for mobile and PC.
Microsoft 365 for Business has a maximum of 300 users, so if your organization is larger than this you will choose from the Enterprise plans.
Enterprise Plans
Large businesses benefit from Microsoft 365 Enterprise Plans.
The most popular Microsoft 365 plan is probably Microsoft 365 E3 ($47.90 user/month), which contains not only the Office 365 apps but also Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, Delve, Yammer, Sway and much more.
Microsoft 365 E5 ($73.00 user/month) adds even more enterprise features a well as data analysis and visualization. The incremental cost is not high to step up from E3 to E5.
Microsoft 365 F3 ($10.20 user/month) is designed for workers who do not necessarily have dedicated computers. This represents a large part of the workforce, especially in market segments such as manufacturing and retail where workers are not deskbound. It is the least expensive Microsoft 365 plan.
While small businesses may purchase direct from Microsoft, enterprise subscriptions are available from Microsoft resellers, like pavliks.com.
In order to optimize your Microsoft 365 plans you need to count the users who need each of the apps and features provided by all of the versions. You are likely to find that the majority of your users need the more basic plans.
Our experts can help you choose the best plan for your business needs and likely save you money on Microsoft 365.
Note- all prices indicated are in Canadian dollars, based on an annual subscription and do not include applicable taxes.
