Why a new name?
The question is rather: why not?
Joking aside - the reason is simple. In Switzerland and other regions, the different names and designations of the products were often confusing. There were two versions of Office 365 Business (Essentials and Premium) and also Microsoft 365 Business. The apps also ran under Office 365 Business or ProPlus.
So it's no wonder that customers are straining their faces: what does which component include?
M365 - the new unit
Whether the new naming initiative makes everything easier remains to be seen. The fact is that all products now run under Microsoft 365, with different gradations for business packages and the helpful designation Microsoft 365 Apps for - logically - cloud-connected desktop apps.
There are now different levels within M365 for private use (Personal/Family), for SMEs (Business) and for large companies (Enterprise). The new name helps small and medium-sized companies in particular to differentiate between the features included:
M365 Business Basic includes everything to do with cloud services. This includes SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive and Teams, the basis for a functioning intranet & a comprehensive storage platform in the Microsoft world.
With M365 Business Standard, the Basic package is expanded to include the desktop apps. Your employees can now receive and send emails via Outlook, create documents (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), design templates in Publisher or optimize the management of your data via Access.
M365 Business Premium adds important security features to the standard package to make your environment more secure. For example, you can access Defender, Intune, Conditional Access, Azure Information Protection and Windows Virtual Desktop.
This categorization makes perfect sense and will make it easier for representatives of medium-sized companies to find the right option for them. After all, now you don't have to keep 3-4 different product names in your head, you can simply search for Microsoft 365 Business!
Does the new name mean higher prices?
An important question to which Microsoft has a crisp, short answer: No.
For Swiss customers and those who would like to become Swiss customers, the current prices remain the same (as of April 2020). The services included will not change either.
If you are considering the introduction or further development of your intranet environment, now is a good time. The new structures make the Microsoft packages easier to understand and therefore easier for you to make a decision. In addition, many providers are currently offering Microsoft-compatible solutions free of charge, which you can test at your leisure. We have listed some offers from our partners such as oneclick or Powell Software.
If you can't find anything suitable here, please contact us! We will find a suitable solution for you.
