MS Office: What’s Changed?

MS Office: What’s Changed?

For as long as I can remember, when you ordered a computer, you purchased Office. Everyone needs this basic tool kit, which includes Word, Excel, Power Point, and so on. Then, Microsoft would come out with new releases every few years and one of the older years’ versions would be ‘end of life’ and no longer supported. Most updates were backwards compatible. Then people would start sending attachments created with the latest Office version and you’d eventually give in and purchase the latest version of Office and install it. Sound familiar?

Microsoft 365 has changed how all of this works, and I would say that the changes are for the better!

First, Office is available as a subscription. Yes, that means a monthly recurring charge, but there are quite a few perks:

• With your license, you can install Office on up to 5 of your personal devices. That means the one subscription will cover your desktop, laptop, and even your tablet. You’re already saving money!
• You can access Office through the web at Office.com. If you’re on someone else’s computer, go to a web browser and log in.
• Turn off subscriptions when your staff size shrinks. You’re not stuck having purchased Office licenses that no one is using.
• Need to scale up? Add monthly subscriptions. It’s a lot less cash outlay to add a couple of licenses than buying Office.

Add OneDrive, and even changing computers will be less painful. Office subscriptions are available ‘a la carte’ or in M365 packages. We recommend looking at the Business Standard or Business Premium package to get the biggest bang for your buck! – CMW

Check out our library of M365 resources here.