Late last year Microsoft offered a limited number of users access to its cloud-based office suite called Office 365. Recently, the company opened up its Office 365 beta to all users, however, in order to make the influx of users manageable, Microsoft is not currently offering instant access to all who sign up. Recent reports suggest that new users are receiving estimates that their access will be enabled in “about two weeks.” But, it’s worth the wait.
Tactically, the new Office 365 suite of online applications is an attempt to parry any momentum gained by Google’s online productivity suite known as Google Apps. Strategically, however, Office 365 is much more than that.
With Office 365, Microsoft has created a subscription-based software model that does not rely on intermediate resellers. Just as important, the ongoing fees charged by the Office 365 program gives the Redmond software company a way to smooth out its revenues.
Traditionally, Microsoft earnings have come in waves. A new product like Office 2010 is released, and the company’s revenues rise as users move to upgrade to the latest version. However, Microsoft has realized that its products are no longer must-upgrades for many businesses small and large. From large enterprises to small offices, business have been reluctant to be forced off what they currently have installed, particularly with the large number of companies and users that resisted the hated Windows Vista operating system. These users had little reason to upgrade what already worked on their years old installations, so they bought no new software from Microsoft.
The company faces a similar prospect in the future, even as businesses and users move to Windows 7 and Office 2010. Once they learn how to make the new software work for them, it’s likely they’ll refuse to upgrade for the next decade from what already works unless Microsoft develops the ever elusive “killer feature.”
With Office 365, the company has a solution. Now, users do not have to upgrade to new software in order to generate revenue for the company. Rather Microsoft can count on recurring revenue from every user of Office 365 on a regular basis.
Automatic, ongoing upgrades are handled by the company itself on the cloud. Users of Office 365 get access to the new features right away. Since they do not have to pay anything more than what they already are paying, users can take advantage of new features they want and ignore those they don’t. No longer does Microsoft have to justify Office suite upgrades with new and exciting killer features. Just staying one step ahead of the competition is enough.
Office 365 Applications
Microsoft Office 365 comes in two versions, Office 365 for professionals and Office 365 for small businesses. Personal users are theoretically supposed to just stick with Microsoft Office Web Apps, which are free. However, anyone willing to pay the subscription fee (it’s free during beta) can use Office 365 and its added features.
One of the big selling points for Office 365 is that both your data and your applications are stored online and accessible from almost any computer with an Internet connection.
Users have been keeping their documents online for years now, either by emailing themselves at an online email account or by more sophisticated online storage services like Dropbox or Microsoft’s own SkyDrive. What Office 365 brings to the table is anywhere access to not just data, but also current versions of your favorite applications. No more logging on to a temporary workstation only to find yourself in a time warp to Excel 2003 when you’ve gotten so productive using the features and interface improvements of Excel 2010.
The heart of Office 365 is the online version of Microsoft’s Office applications known as Office Web Apps. These online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote have been available via Windows Live for personal use since last year. Office 365 builds on their success.
The Office 365 versions of these web apps, are powered by SharePoint Online and bring many of the collaboration features, including simultaneous editing, to the online versions, as well as integrating with any corporate SharePoint installation already in place.
Email and Calendar on Office 365
The email and calendar features of Office 365 may be the biggest news for small businesses.
Powered by Microsoft Exchange Online, the Office 365 email and scheduling system offers much of the power and flexibility of a traditional Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange pairing.
The web interface is surprisingly similar to the familiar hard-drive installed version of Microsoft Outlook. Important features like calendar sharing or seeing free and busy times on someone else’s calendar work just like they would on a corporate network with a full IT staff. The best part is that users with a locally installed copy of Microsoft Outlook can all use the Office 365 email and scheduling system as if it were an Exchange server relieving those businesses who only need an email system of having to install a server at all. (Those who do need an installed server should look at Microsoft Small Business Server 2011.)
Office 365 users each get up to 25-gigabytes of online storage per mailbox. There is a size limitation for sent mail of 25 MB, but most users will find that easy enough to work with.
Microsoft Lync Online
For true road warriors who are never in the office, or even a geographically dispersed team, Office 365 offers the powerful Lync Online tool. Lync provides secure instant messaging, video conferencing, and online meetings. Online meetings can be everything from just a bunch of people looking at webcams while having a meeting to full-scale presentations. Logged in users from remote locations can hear the discussion in the room, as well as see any audio or video presentations, all without installing yet another client software.
Users can even share their desktop with multiple users, perfect for training and technical support, as well as demos.
Office 365 Enterprise
Office 365 Enterprise is aimed at those environments where there is already an installed base of users, servers, and Microsoft products that need to be enhanced by Office 365.
Office 365 Enterprise offers Active Directory integration and email that connects with your existing Exchange Servers, among other things.
Office 365 Beta
The Office 365 Beta is limited to 25 users per account, and the only support offered is via the Microsoft Communities website. Once the beta period ends, users will automatically be migrated to the full-scale production environment. They’ll also have to start paying, but for now, Office 365 Beta is a great way to get a full suite of email and Office applications up and running in the cloud.
I can not belive it that MS again is forcing its users to move over another system they don’t want.
OLSB is the best thing you guys had going and now you are frocing your using to move. Instead you should be able to develop a tiered service with Office 365 being the top and living OLSB ALONE!!
Since this will be happening any ways, I will have to find another website hosting company and rebuild my website and toss out my purchased MS Office Professional 2010. If you provide a service do not change it on your customers espically after they have spent A LOT OF TIME building up there company using the service that was provided because I purchases MS Office Professional 2010.
MS is just another large company that DOES NOT care about what they do to there users and dumps them by the road side and say “we toldt them”. Do you really think that is the best way to keep users of your products, that would be a NO!
From this day forward I will not purchase another MS Office product again and make it’s my life work to let everyone know not to purchase this software suite because it 1 to 2 years they will remove a software a program (Accounting 2007, 2008; just to name a few) and give no warning to there users that purchase there software.
I’m tired of software companies thinking they can get away with what ever they think is the greater good for there users. I’m sorry and you know that is a bunch have $#@!%#@#$%&!
I know you try to make me see the benifits of moving over to Office 365 but you don’t get it. OLSB was working and ISN’T BROKEN there is not need to fix it with something better. You can also argue that we want to give you better features, well let me tell you that is why I had OLSB and MS Offfice Professional 2010 because they worked together and I LOVED IT. NOW you have killed it and my company.
Thank you every much for wasting my time again where I thought MS would keep a product going because it is working. Well don’t have I have egg all over my face.
Your every upset customer that will not use another MS Office product again!