Microsoft Office 365 is Best for Use Everywhere
Microsoft 365 is the new and improved version of the former Microsoft 365 office. It’s the gold standard when it comes to office suites—one that everyone is trying to match. We particularly recommend the software because of the plethora of products and apps like Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint. Complete with an affordable price tag, Microsoft Office 365 is really a no-brainer if you’re looking for powerful, feature-packed office suite software.
Comparing Microsoft 365 Office to the Best Office Suite Software
Being the world’s standard for office suites, it’s no surprise Microsoft 365 Office is one of our top picks for the best office suite software.
It’s the best option for online and offline use, thanks to its smooth collaboration features, user-friendly interface, and unparalleled flexibility to suit each use case. What’s more, the product is packed with several powerful apps and services, including Word, Excel, Power BI, Skype, and Outlook, that seriously simplify creating, collaborating, and sharing your work.
While Microsoft Office 365 offers a wide range of amazing features, it isn’t the only option in the market. We’ve compiled a list of a few other office suite software that take productivity to the next level to help you pick a solution that’s most suitable based on your requirements and budget.
Explore the benefits of Microsoft 365 Office
Anytime-Anywhere Access: Microsoft 365 Office ‘s biggest USP is its flexibility. Work from anywhere on earth as long as you have a reliable internet connection. No need to wait until the morning to piece together an idea—just open the laptop and start working directly no matter the time of day. As it’s entirely cloud-based, you can access your email, files, and office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) from any device and location. You can also choose a plan with the desktop version of Office that can be installed on up to five devices per user. This way, you won’t have to rely on having a stable internet connection. Continue working and simply sync the changes once you’re reconnected. This is particularly handy for companies with remote or hybrid employees, multiple locations, and employees who travel often.
Variety of Quality Apps: Each Microsoft 365 Office app and service is one of the best options you can get your hands on, if not the top product. For instance, you get the ever-dependable Word that’s the best general word processor for most users. If you deal with spreadsheets, you can use Excel, which is another standard when other solutions fall short. And these are just the tip of the iceberg—several others can significantly improve productivity and help ensure better outcomes.
Easy and Seamless Team Collaboration: When looking for an office suite solution, many businesses want an option that allows them to collaborate with in-house departments and third-party individuals. Microsoft 365 Office has a co-authoring tool that lets multiple users collaborate on a specific project simultaneously. Employees can communicate on the same project without worrying about creating duplicate copies. All the updates are visible in real-time, plus you can see who has made what change and at what time. The multi-collaboration feature is also time-saving as you don’t have to wait for other people to finish working on the piece to make your own edits.
Superior Security Features: Security is one of the most common concerns business leaders have about cloud-based systems like Microsoft Office 365. The good news is that Microsoft has taken a lot of initiative to ensure top-notch security that ensures all data uploaded onto the system is as secure as it can possibly be. Besides the hashed passwords, you get a host of valuable security features like data loss prevention, threat intelligence, and mobile device management. You also get extra protection from sophisticated threats that may be hidden in emails and attachments, thanks to additional advanced security features like two-factor authentication.
Fully-Integrated Productivity Suite: Performing tasks is easier on Microsoft 365 Office because every app and service is tightly integrated. Notify your team members instantly about changes with @mentions. Or schedule a meeting directly from an email or a chat, and find them synced across all your devices. You can also add a file from SharePoint to a task in Planner. Everything is seamless and smooth and hassle-free. You don’t have to install any third-party apps, plus since the UI/UX is consistent across Microsoft 365 Office , using each app and service in concert isn’t too complicated.
Automatic and Regular Updates: IT technicians spend the majority of the time checking, rebooting, and updating software. As you may know, this is a very time-consuming process, plus other employees have to wait for the update to be completed before they can continue working, leading to productivity loss. But not anymore. Microsoft Office 365 regularly pushes out automatic updates that free up your IT staff’s time, allowing them to focus their efforts on more important tasks and boost productivity. Your team can continue working without being held back by slow, outdated software.
Flexible Pricing Plans Tailored to Business Use Cases: The best office suite software lets you choose plans that meet your specific requirements instead of forcing you to fit into them. However, this isn’t a readily available benefit as most productivity suites offer a maximum of two to three plans—but notMicrosoft 365 Office . Currently, you can choose from seven plans that not only come with various unique and overlapping features but can also help you cater to your exact requirements. In other words, you don’t have to compromise and can choose a plan that best suits you and your business needs. Additionally, each plan is subscription-based, saving you from spending hundreds of dollars. You only need to pay a monthly fee per user based on what you need. Cherry-pick the programs and features you want, and mix and match plans as per your convenience.
Explore the disadvantages of Microsoft 365 Office
Mandatory Internet Connection Requirement: While anytime-anywhere access to work is Microsoft Office 365’s biggest advantage, it’s also a disadvantage. Why? Like all cloud-based systems, Microsoft 365 Office uploads your data onto the web, which is where you access your apps and services from anywhere and at any time. If you have a poor internet connection or are experiencing downtime, you cannot access your most recent files. Of course, there are plans that allow you to download full desktop versions of Microsoft Office 365 apps, allowing you to continue working without the internet. But you’ll still need a stable internet connection to upload the work later.
Compatibility Issues: Despite the periodical updates, Microsoft tends to only be compatible with devices capable of handling such advanced software. This means it’s likely your old system may not be compatible with Microsoft 365 Office. If that’s the case, you can take a few steps to go around it—but beware, these hacks are both costly and time-consuming. Upgrade every one of your systems to a new version of Microsoft Windows or buy new systems altogether. Another possibility is that some of your clients may not use cloud-based systems or have the same software. In this case, you can use Office Online, a tool that allows third-party users to use basic functions of Microsoft Office 365, like viewing and editing documents without having to subscribe to a plan. But this tool is very basic and limited, so don’t expect too much.
Regular Updates Mean Constant Changes: As discussed, Microsoft 365 Office is always rolling out new updates and features. This is a solid advantage, especially for tech-savvy employees. But it can quickly get tedious for those who are slow to adapt to changes, leading to potential problems. If your workforce doesn’t like the new version or layout of Microsoft Office 365, there is not much you can do about it. This may cause team productivity to dip until people get used to the new changes. Ensure your users understand how to use the new features. If they don’t, help familiarize them with the changes.
No Ownership Rights: When you sign up for Microsoft 365 Office , you don’t become the owner of the software. Instead, you only get permission to use Microsoft’s IP. You lose all your tools if Microsoft decides it doesn’t want to support Microsoft 365 Office anymore. The same thing will happen if Microsoft goes down tomorrow. Basically, your entire business depends on Microsoft. Considering several Fortune 500 companies use Microsoft Office 365, it’s safe to say you’re in good hands. But we still wanted to make you aware of this small factor.
Features of Office 365 Pro Plus
Latest Office Suite with New Office 2021 Apps
Always have updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, and others. The new Office Apps in ProPlus for PC and Mac allow you to use a regular keyboard, stylus pen or touchscreen.
1 TB Store and Share Files
Microsoft 365 Office Pro Plus comes with OneDrive for Business that allows 1 TB of cloud storage for every user. Files stored on OneDrive can be accessed from any location and kept synced with desktops and laptops for offline use.
Professional Digital Storytelling
You can create, edit, and share interactive presentations, reports, training sessions and more using Sway. It is the new App in Microsoft 365 Office , which can be easily accessed using just a browser on your tablet or smartphone.
More Effective PDF and Word
Edit paragraphs, lists and tables in PDF files the same way you do in Word. You can track comments and changes in Word and use the Reply button to mark them as done. Convert data into charts and tables for better analysis.
Power BI for Office 365
A separate service, the Power BI allows you to create an online gallery for all your Excel reports. You can give other users access to the gallery, so that they can share insights and collaborate from anywhere, using any device.
Microsoft 365 Office on PCs, Tablets, and Phones
Get full, installed Office applications on your PCs, Laptops, Macs, Windows tablets, iPad and Android tablets, and Smartphones. Each user gets 5 installs.
Office Online
With Office online, you can work and collaborate in real time with external users from other locations. You can use just a browser for creating, editing, as well as sharing Office application files online with others.
Self-Service Business Intelligence in Excel
You can discover new potentials of Excel in Office Pro Plus. You can search, connect, model, and analyze data most effectively with Power Query and Power Pivot features. Power View and Power Map provide insights and intuitive reports.
Enhanced OneNote and PowerPoint
With Office Pro Plus, you can embed Excel spreadsheets, Visio diagrams, photos, and almost every other file in your OneNote notebooks. You can also share your PowerPoint presentations on the internet by sending its link.
Customized Marketing Collaterals
Tap into the power of Office Pro Plus to come up with creative content to enhance your marketing communications and branding initiatives. Use PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to create innovative promotional collaterals.
Summary
Microsoft 365 Office is definitely Crazy Egg-approved!
It’s one of the most powerful office apps available on almost all platforms and is packed with smooth collaboration features and valuable apps and services that make it the best when it comes to productivity suites. Regardless of whether you use it online or offline, you’ll be surely impressed with the functionality and flexibility on offer.
