The Differences Between Office 365 and Microsoft 365
All tools under the Office 365 name are now part of Microsoft 365. As Office 365 evolved rapidly to include more comprehensive features beyond the Office family, Microsoft rebranded it as Microsoft 365 in 2020. Microsoft 365 plans now comprise the functionality of Office 365 plans with more capabilities in device and app management, cyber threat and information protection, and security and access management.
Along with the Microsoft 365 rebranded products, a few Office 365 plans still exist. Moreover, old documentation and third-party publications often contain references to Office 365 plans and services. This can make navigating the new plans and capabilities challenging and time-consuming.
What Is O365?
Launched in 2011, Office 365 is a cloud-based suite of apps and services mainly for business productivity and collaboration purchased as a subscription. The Office 365 suite allowed Microsoft to enter the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market.
Office 365 subscriptions included the following apps:
- Office suite with well-known Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote
- Outlook
- SharePoint Online
- OneDrive
- Teams
- Skype for Business
In 2020, Microsoft announced the rebranding to minimize confusion around their offerings and make navigating different plans easier for their customers. The company renamed former Office 365 subscriptions while maintaining the same cost and functionality:
- Office 365 Personal > Microsoft 365 Personal
- Office 365 Home > Microsoft 365 Family
- Office 365 Business Essentials > Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- Office 365 Business Premium > Microsoft 365 Business Standard
- Office 365 Business > Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
- Office 365 ProPlus > Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprises
Is Office 365 Different from Microsoft 365?
Office 365 tools are now part of Microsoft 365, and Microsoft is gradually shifting away from the Office brand altogether. For example, at the end of 2022, the company announced rebranding its Office apps for Windows and mobile into the Microsoft 365 app.
However, despite the rebranding, the following Office 365 plans for enterprises, education, and government retained their original names:
- Office 365 E1, E3 and E5
- Office 365 A1, A3 and A5
- Office 365 G3 and G5
All of these plans, except for Office 365 E1, have Microsoft 365 alternatives that include all Office 365 features plus additional compliance and security features, though at a higher cost.
You can find a more detailed M365 vs O365 comparison on our blog.
What Is M365?
Microsoft 365 was first introduced in 2017 as a subscription-based all-in-all bundle of all existing apps and services, namely Windows OS, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS). Today, it has evolved into a comprehensive AI-powered cloud platform that combines apps, cloud services and security features in one place.
Is Microsoft 365 the same as Office 365?
It’s not. Unlike Office 365, which was primarily designed for business productivity, its successor, Microsoft 365, along with productivity and collaboration tools, also includes tools for:
- device and endpoint management, such as Microsoft Intune and Endpoint Analytics,
- security and access management, like Microsoft Entra ID and Azure Active Directory,
- and protection against cyber threats, like Microsoft Defender and Purview.
Microsoft 365 offers flexible licensing with multiple subscription options for home, business, enterprises, education, government, frontline workers, and nonprofit organizations, along with various add-ons that can be added to different plans. With a subscription, along with desktop apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, you receive cloud storage, additional cloud-connected services and tools, and always have up-to-date services and security fixes. Read more about the differences between Microsoft Office 365 vs Office 2021.
Microsoft 365 Data Protection with NAKIVO
According to the Microsoft Shared Responsibility Model and Service Agreement, Microsoft is not liable for customer data and its possible loss in case of outages and disruptions. And although there are Microsoft 365 tools for data security, their functionality is too limited to replace a comprehensive backup solution like NAKIVO Backup for Microsoft 365.
