March 30, 2020 by Tim
On Monday, Microsoft announced that its Office 365 platform would change its name to Microsoft 365. Nothing else is changing (including pricing, which will stay the same). The name change will take effect automatically on April 21, 2020.
Our take: Thank goodness, and it’s about time. Microsoft already had another, related product called Microsoft 365, and I can say from personal experience that clients were already calling Office 365 “Microsoft 365” (and getting confused about the difference). Now, the two will become one, and the confusion will end. Forget about Office 365. It’s Microsoft 365 from here on out. Or, better yet, can we all agree just to say “365”?
Microsoft is also releasing some new, nicely priced personal plans for 365, for those of us who don’t get a license from work or school.
The 365 subscription levels will also be renamed. Most notably, Business Premium is now Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business will be the new Business Premium. Personally, this naming makes much more sense, as Standard (old Business Premium) is the minimum most businesses need, and the new Premium has the extras.
From Microsoft:
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. Where necessary we will use the “for business” and “for enterprise” labels to distinguish between the two.
