Microsoft 365 Online is a cloud-based productivity suite that offers a full range of tools to improve collaboration and work management. Combining familiar applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with cloud services such as OneDrive and Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Online allows users to access, create and share documents wherever they are, using any device connected to the Internet. In this article we will take some space to better understand what it is, what differentiates it from the old Office, how it works, and what are the main plans and features of the service.
Who isn't familiar with Microsoft Office? The Redmond home office work suite is probably among the most used software in the world, at work and at home. Anyone who has ever dealt with a computer in their life will, at least once, have had to deal with the suite's most popular programs such as Word, Outlook, PowerPoint or Excel.
Office has undergone many changes since its original release in 1990. A notable milestone was the introduction of the ribbon interface in Office 2007, but perhaps the most significant moment of evolution came in 2010, with the launch of docs.com — a collaboration with Facebook that allowed users to share documents with friends, discover documents uploaded by their friends, and even collaboratively edit them. Soon after, it was followed by the full Office Live Workspace service, along with simplified web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
These first online services may not have had a significant immediate impact, but they laid the groundwork for Office 365, which arrived in 2013 offering extensive cloud-based sharing and collaboration capabilities. Fast-forward to the present day, the entire idea of Office has become cloud-centered. Instead of being a suite of individual applications, it's now a complete service for creating, editing and sharing documents across teams and across all your devices.
The Microsoft Office package has therefore ended up taking a back seat: Office 365 (now renamed Microsoft 365) has become the core of the offer, and online tools and web versions of the main apps are a key part of the package.
Microsoft 365 It is now, de facto, the generic term for Microsoft subscription plans that offer users a bundle of productivity software and services. In exchange for a monthly fee, subscribers have access to all of Microsoft's standard applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Outlook, plus cloud storage and other services designed to improve productivity in the workplace.
Most people still refer to any version of the suite as Microsoft Office, which makes it difficult to distinguish between editions but don't panic, in this article we will not only clarify any doubts but also offer a complete overview of the service for those who have missed a few steps.
In the past, Microsoft Office consisted of individual applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, which were purchased as a single package.
Although it was a reliable solution for creating documents, presentations and managing e-mail, it lacked the integrated, cloud-based features that are increasingly essential in today's digital landscape. Features that began to appear in Microsoft's office suite with the first introduction of Office 365 in 2013.
Microsoft 365, born from the evolution of Office 365, is a complete suite for cloud-based productivity and collaboration. It is no longer a simple software package, but a real platform that offers access to a wide range of applications, services and technologies, designed to meet the needs of individual users and companies of all sizes.
At the heart of Microsoft 365, we find the iconic Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, available both in desktop and web versions (through Microsoft 365 Online, which we will talk about in the appropriate subsection) and mobile. However, the Microsoft 365 offering goes far beyond traditional Office apps.
In fact, the subscription includes advanced communication tools such as Viva Engage and Microsoft Teams for real-time collaboration and instant messaging, SharePoint for managing and sharing business content and, last but not least, Power Platform tools for automation, low-code app development and business analysis.
In addition, Microsoft 365 integrates cloud storage services through OneDrive, ensuring the availability and synchronization of files on all devices, and advanced security solutions for the protection of business data, such as encryption and automatic backup.
Microsoft 365 Online represents the web version of the popular productivity applications offered by Microsoft 365. This is a free service that allows users to access and use some of the main features of the desktop counterparts of the suite directly from the browser, without the need to install any software.
Microsoft 365 Online offers a freemium usage model. The basic functionality is free, allowing you to access applications and create, modify and share documents without any cost. However, to unlock advanced features or get more storage, you can subscribe to paid subscription plans.
The service includes web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, thus offering the possibility to create, view and modify documents, spreadsheets, presentations and digital notes from your browser.
Although the functionalities are similar to those of the desktop versions, it is important to emphasize that although Microsoft 365 Online offers a subset of additional features, there are some limitations compared to the desktop versions of the apps made available.
To use this service, all we need to do is, using any browser, reach the official Microsoft 365 page (available here) and log in with your Microsoft credentials (or sign up using the convenient wizard if you don't have them).
After logging in, we will be directed to the main page of Microsoft 365 Online, where it will be possible to navigate through the suite's web applications and choose which one we want to use. Unlike desktop versions, Microsoft 365 Online requires no installations or configurations. To start working, just click on the icon of the application of interest and a new browser window will open with the work interface.
Once you have finished your work, it will be possible with a simple click to save the documents to a OneDrive space or, alternatively, export the document to your PC to save a local copy and, if necessary, continue working on it even offline.
To take advantage of the full potential of the applications and access advanced functionality, you must subscribe to Microsoft 365. However, for simple document creation and editing, Microsoft 365 Online represents a valid free alternative, suitable for those who do not have particularly complex needs or for those who simply want to try the applications before deciding whether to invest in a subscription.
To successfully implement business processes within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, the following skills are needed:
Dev4Side Software has the vertical technical skills to provide you with a single, transversal point of contact for all the elements of your subscription.
So far it should be clear what it is Microsoft 365, but the confusion of many users does not arise so much from the applications themselves, all extremely familiar to those who have worked with a PC in the last thirty years, but from the numerous subscription plans of the service and their characteristics.
The options available are in fact extremely numerous and characterized by the availability (or not) of some services and functionalities and the differences may sometimes not be crystal clear (quite the contrary, if anything). Don't panic though, in this section we will try to clarify any doubts on this aspect as well.
Let's start at the beginning, there are two main options when it comes to Microsoft and Office 365 licenses for companies: the family of services Business (as Microsoft calls it) and the family of services Enterprise. For simplicity, we'll call these service families categories, because that's what they really are: main categories that offer different plans.
The category Business covers up to 300 users and includes these four plans:
Do you have more than 300 users who need to provide these services? In this case we will then move on to the category Enterprise, which supports an unlimited number of users through these plans:
If you own a small-medium business (less than 300 employees), you should consider adopting a Microsoft 365 for business plan. Here we will limit ourselves to a general overview and for a more detailed comparison, we invite you to see the Office 365 plans for companies on official site.
Every level (not included) Microsoft 365 Apps for Business) is based on the previous one and are respectively:
If you have more than 300 users in your environment, your business plans may no longer cover your organization's needs, and you should consider a Microsoft or Office 365 plan for enterprise businesses.
These plans are specifically designed for large companies with a larger workforce and budget that need not only greater coverage but also more advanced control and management features.
You'll notice that each of these plans starts with a AND Or a F. Let's try to clarify what these two letters mean: the plans with the AND are designed for information workers in an enterprise environment, while plans with the F are designed for front-line workers in an enterprise environment.
Microsoft defines information workers like typical employees with office jobs who rarely interact with customers face-to-face. I front-line workers, on the other hand, are generally more mobile and in direct contact with customers.
Information workers often benefit from Office apps, such as Word, while front-line workers tend to rely on communication apps, such as Teams.
A small note before starting, from April 2024 Teams is offered as a separate service in the Microsoft 365 E plans, a choice based on the concerns of the European Commission that stems from a Complaint filed in 2020 by Slack, convinced that the integration of Teams into Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription plans represented an incorrect practice capable of harming the competition.
Microsoft, after the EU accepted Slack's complaints and forced by circumstances, decided to Separate Teams from Windows 365 and Office 365 packages sold in Europe first and, then, in the rest of the world to avoid creating more confusion than there already was.
Now, here too, we will limit ourselves to a main overview of the plans offered, for more details, as always, we invite you to consult the official page of the service on Microsoft site. The plans are respectively:
Although it is extremely taken for granted today, over the course of its thirty years of Office life, Office has radically changed the way of conceiving the world of office work at every level and in every sector.
Each subsequent iteration was dedicated to improving and expanding the functionality of its software in ways that were never taken for granted and always with an eye to the needs and requests of the users who used the suite's programs every day.
The evolution from Office to Office 365 and finally to Microsoft 365 represents the culmination of a journey as long as the lives of many of the users who use it today, a path that has transformed the suite into an incredibly complete productivity platform that can be used everywhere, able to cover every possible need and offer first-rate tools to companies, organizations and individuals.
From the great classics such as Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint, to the development of intranets through the SharePoint collaboration platform, passing from rapid communication with Viva Engage and Teams and concluding in recent times with the addition of Power Platform tools, there does not seem to be a working environment that Microsoft 365 software does not cover in some way.
The constant updates and expansions of the service only reconfirm the attention that Microsoft still dedicates today to what, most likely, still remains its most popular offer.
All that remains is to invite you to look for the solution that best suits you among the different plans offered (or to start using Microsoft 365 Online to familiarize yourself with the essential functions and apps) and discover why, after all this time, 117 million users continue to choose to use these apps every day.
Microsoft 365 Online is a cloud-based version of popular productivity apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, accessible via a web browser without installation.
While Microsoft 365 Online offers similar functionality to desktop versions, it has limited features compared to its desktop counterpart, and some advanced tools require a subscription.
Yes, Microsoft 365 Online provides basic features for free, but advanced functionalities and more storage are available with paid plans.
Yes, Microsoft 365 Online allows real-time collaboration through cloud-based apps, facilitating teamwork on documents and presentations.
You can access Microsoft 365 Online by visiting the Microsoft 365 website, logging in with your Microsoft account, and selecting the desired application.
Microsoft 365 Online includes web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and cloud storage via OneDrive, along with tools like Microsoft Teams for collaboration.
The Modern Work team effectively and swiftly addresses IT needs, primarily focusing on software development. The technical staff is well-trained in implementing software projects using Microsoft technology stacks and is skilled in managing both agile and long-term projects.
