Which Microsoft 365 Plan is Right for My Business
What is Microsoft 365
The Microsoft Office Suite products are a powerful line of digital software tools that dates back nearly three decades. Microsoft 365, formerly Office 365, has been available since 2011. It differs from the original bundle of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in two ways. It is licensed as a monthly or annual subscription rather than as a recurring license. It also combines a suite of online services, including business-class email, cloud file storage, and secure communication tools along with the traditional desktop applications. Since it’s a licensed offering, the desktop applications are updated automatically when a new version is available.
Microsoft 365 is available in Family & Personal editions and Business & Enterprise editions.
Microsoft 365 Included Services and Apps
The Microsoft 365 subscription includes a mix of apps and services depending on the plan selected.
OneDrive
Similar to a traditional hard drive, OneDrive is a cloud storage service that allows a user to store important files all in one location. From there, these files can be accessed from virtually anywhere. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use OneDrive to share content and collaborate with people in real-time. Additionally, it’s cross-device and cross-platform design allows people to start files on one device and pick up where they left off on another.
SharePoint
Every Microsoft 365 subscriber gets 1 TB of personal OneDrive storage, with sync clients available for every desktop platform. The Files on Demand feature allows users to view and manage cloud-based storage using File Explorer.
Teams
This collaborative platform replaces the older Skype for Business service, offering unified communications, HD video conferencing, and instant messaging for Microsoft 365 subscribers in an organization, along with a team-and-channel-based architecture that covers much of the same feature set as alternatives like Slack.
Which subscription is right for your business?
Microsoft 365 – Business Basic (starting at $5.00/user/month)
Formerly known as Office 365 Business Essentials, the Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a simple and efficient package to consider for a remote solutions. The only downside to this plan is that the office applications are not available to download on your desktop, but can be accessed 100% online from any web browser. With simple and lite usage, you can perform many of your basic office tasks while still meeting all your productivity needs. As an added feature, you all also receive access to OneDrive, SharePoint, and a mailbox with 50GB of space. With a low monthly fee, users get to take advantage of all the benefits of Microsoft 365 like cloud storage and file sharing.
Exchange
Microsoft 365 – Business Standard (starting at $12.50/user/month)
Formerly named Office 365 Business Premium, this plan offers everything a small business needs for their day to day operations, which is one of the reasons it is referred to as the “Business Standard.” You receive desktop versions of the Office Applications and a full installation of these applications on five mobile devices, five tablets, and fives PC’s or macs, per user. In addition to your subscription, you will receive access to a few online business applications such as Outlook Customer Manager, Microsoft Teams Shifts, Microsoft Bookings, Microsoft Invoicing, and MileQ. These are only available with the Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription.
Exchange
Microsoft 365 – Business Premium (starting at $20/user/month)
Formerly known as Microsoft 365 Business, this plan offers everything included in the Business Standard package, but offers an enhanced security plan geared towards the remote workforce. These additional security layers help protect against sophisticated threats hidden in email attachments and links, ransomware, and other advanced malware attempts with Microsoft Defender for Office 365. It also allows businesses to remotely wipe company data from lost or stolen devices.
Exchange
Conditional Access
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (starting at $8.25/user/month)
This plan is best for small businesses with heavy file storage and sharing needs, and those not interested in moving their email to Microsoft’s servers. Each user has access to 1 TB of storage. Like the rest of the plans, you will receive access to all the Office Desktop apps, with the option to install these applications on five devices. However, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Business emails, or Bookings are not included in this subscription.
Outlook
Word
Excel
Powerpoint
Publisher
Access
Onedrive
Still don’t know which plan is right for you? We can help. Answer a few questions about what your business is looking for and a member of our Sales team will get in touch to start an estimate.
