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Office 365 for SMBs is Now Microsoft 365: What the Change Means For Your Business
A new name, a new look. As Microsoft heads towards a more robust suite of products, they are phasing out the Office 365 brand in favour of Microsoft 365 both for personal subscriptions, as well as now for small and medium businesses (SMBs). This natural progression comes following the 2017 move to provide Microsoft 365 for Enterprise: comprising Windows, Office, and Enterprise Mobility and Security.
We previously wrote about the changes from Office 365 to Microsoft 365 for enterprise customers, after Microsoft rolled out the new branding in 2017. Back then, the focus for enterprises was on Collaboration, Customer Management, and Security and Management, and included products like “Power BI, Advanced Threat Protection, Planner, Flow and Staff Hub”.
This new rebranding for SMBs means there is greater distinction between ‘simply the Office apps’ and the entire Microsoft ecosystem, including file storage, communications products, and security and compliance features. Packaging these elements together simply makes sense for businesses running Windows.
Which Microsoft 365 plans are changing names?
From April 22, 2020, a range of Office 365 plans for SMBs are now branded under the Microsoft 365 banner. This includes:
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic, formerly Office 365 Business Essentials
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard, formerly Office 365 Business Premium
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium, formerly Microsoft 365 Business
Meanwhile, the Office 365 Business and Office 365 ProPlus packages are now Microsoft 365 Apps. Microsoft 365 Apps for business is the Office suite of apps only.
The changes also include a change to the SKU code for each product, which may need updating in your systems if you currently have any of the old products listed under a subscription.
Office 365 plans for Enterprise, Education, and Government have not changed names.
What’s included in Microsoft 365 for SMBs?
Web and mobile apps for the Office suite
- This is the standard office apps online (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) and includes concurrent authoring
Email and calendar on Microsoft 365
- A custom email domain
- 50GB mailbox
- Calendar and meeting scheduling, including shared calendars
- Ability to set up new email addresses for your company
Storage
- 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage
- Share files with external parties
- Sync across devices
Teamwork and collaboration
- Microsoft Teams, with the ability to video conference with up to 250 users, plus chat app and file sharing
- Team sites with all relevant content for work via Sharepoint
Security and compliance
- Exchange Online Protection for advanced email threat detection
- More than 1000 different security controls for regional and industry compliance
- Access permissions for different users and user groups
- Password policies
Support and deployment
- Web and phone support 24/7
- 99.9% guaranteed uptime
- Up to 300 users
Business management
- Scheduling and tasks with Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Bookings for clients scheduling bookings*
- Mileage tracking and reporting with Mile IQ*
Desktop versions of the Office suite
- Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Windows and Mac (plus Access and Publisher for PC only)*
- Up to 5 installations per user*
Advanced Security
- Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection for email, links, and attachments**
- Selective Wipe from Intune to remote wipe devices**
- Restricted copy and save on apps**
- Information Rights Management which includes Do Not Copy and Do Not Forward**
- Windows Defender Exploit Guard for pre-breach threat resistance**
- Malware protection on Windows 10 devices with Windows Defender**
- Unlimited cloud archival with Exchange Online Archiving**
Device Management
- Configure security settings on Windows 10, iOS and Android devices**
- Policy management across Windows 10 devices**
- Automatic deployment of Office apps to Windows 10 PCs**
- Auto-update for Windows 10 and Office apps**
- Security policies across Windows 10, iOS and Android devices with Mobile Device Management from Intune**
*Standard and Premium plans only
**Premium plan only
Which Microsoft 365 package do I need?
We recommend that most businesses take out the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan, as the security functionality and device management features really are important for most modern businesses that have more than a handful of users.
If you were already on one of the legacy plans, you will have simply been rolled over to the new plan, however you might like to think about upgrading if you were on the Office 365 Business Essentials or Office 365 Business Premium plan.
If you would like an assessment of which Microsoft 365 plan is perfect for your business, or think you need some additional Microsoft services then please get in touch. We can determine which plan and/or services will be the best fit for you. A1 Technologies is also skilled at configuring security settings, walking you through how to best manage your team using Microsoft 365, and setting up your workspaces for maximum efficiency – so please reach out.
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