If you are wondering how the Microsoft 365 Apps vs Office 365 ProPlus vs Business compare with its predecessor, the O365 plans, we have you covered. In this post, we explain how these plans map with the new subscriptions.
Recently, Microsoft has announced the new product names for the Office 365 Business plans, and they came into effect from April 2020. Office 365 is basically categorized into three principal categories i.e., Personal, Business, and Enterprise.
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise is the most productive and most secure Office experience for enterprises, allowing your teams to work together seamlessly from anywhere, anytime. UW Office 365 ProPlus UW also offers students, faculty, and staff UW Office 365 ProPlus for those who want to install the full version of Office on a device, with the option of installing the software on 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets (Windows, iPad, and Android), and 5 phones.
- The Microsoft Evaluation Center brings you full-featured Microsoft product evaluation software available for download or trial on Microsoft Azure.
- Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus is a version of Office available through your active Microsoft Office 365 subscription and installed from the cloud on your local computer, smartphone or tablet device. All users need is an Office 365 account and an active connection to the Internet to verify any assigned licenses and get started with its apps suite.
- Modern workplace training. Learn how to get more work done, from anywhere on any device with Microsoft 365 and Windows 10. Discover how industry professionals leverage Microsoft 365 to communicate, collaborate, and improve productivity across the team and organization.
The names are changed for the Office 365 Business subscriptions. It is essential to understand the significance of Office 365. It offers organizations a boost in productivity. Moreover, it presents collaboration software like Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and Office.
Microsoft 365 Apps vs Office 365 ProPlus vs Business – What’s the change?
| Old Name | New Name |
| Office 365 Business Essentials | Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
| Office 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
| Microsoft 365 Business | Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
| Office 365 Business | Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
| Office 365 ProPlus | Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise |
Comparison of Microsoft 365 Business Essentials vs Business Premium vs Business:
| Features | Microsoft 365 Business Essentials | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 Business |
| Office Applications Included | – | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook |
| Services Included | Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams | Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams | OneDrive |
| Maximum number of users | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for Windows or Mac | Not Included | Included | Included |
| Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for iOS, Android devices (up to 5 phones and 5 tablets) | Included | Included | Included |
| Microsoft Teams – Desktop and mobile versions | Included | Included | Not Included |
| Email & calendaring (50 GB mailbox for email hosting with custom email domain address) | Included | Included | Not Included |
| 1 TB OneDrive for Business file storage and sharing | Included | Included | Included |
| Exchange Online Protection – from spam, malware, and other threats | Included | Included | Not Included |
| Custom permission for accessing crucial business information | Included | Included | Included |
| Password policy creation | Included | Included | Included |
| Microsoft Teams for scheduling and planning | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| Microsoft Bookings for managing appointments | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| MileIQ for real-time precise on-the-go mileage tracking | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| 24/7 Support for end users via phone, chat, and email | Included | Included | Included |
| 99.9% uptime guarantee | Included | Included | Included |
| Licensed for commercial use | Included | Included | Included |
| Money-back guarantee | 15 days | 15 days | 15 days |
| Price | $5 user/month (annual commitment) | $12.5 user/month (annual commitment) | $8.25 user/month (annual commitment) |
Office 365 Login
The recent changes are just the name changes, and there are no other changes to features or pricing in each license.
When Microsoft used both the terms i.e., Microsoft 365 and Office 365, it becomes very confusing for consumers. Therefore, the new names are assigned that are straight forward because now it is all about Microsoft 365.
You may be currently using the Office 365 Business Essentials, Business Premium, or the Microsoft 365 Business. For these, the only change is that you get your subscription updated to the new name. Except for that, there is no other change.
It is important to note that Office 365 Business and Office 365 ProPlus both became Microsoft 365 Apps. At many places, you will find the use of “for business” and “for enterprise” terms to differentiate between the two.
The Enterprise plans have no changes. Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 have no modifications. Also, the Government (G1, G3 & G5), Academic (A1, A3 & A5), and Firstline (F1 & F3) SKUs have no changes. There have been some recent changes in the Firstline offerings as updated on 1st April 2020.
The reason behind the change:
When Office 365 was launched in 2011, it was the champion product of Microsoft’s cloud business. It gave organizations a simple yet efficient way to attain the benefits of the cloud. Moreover, it revolutionized the workplace with digital tools to facilitate contemporary, mobile collaboration between the workforce.
Almost after 10 years of this launch, Microsoft 365 is the latest productivity and security solution in a suite of offerings. It also includes Office 365. It adds crucial security and management products to the package. This helps the organizations to access a comprehensive package of tools for the boost in productivity, security, collaboration, and IT management.
With the new name i.e., Office 365, renamed to Microsoft 365, Microsoft is focusing on Microsoft 365 and swaying away from the focus from purely Office 365. It is believed that this renaming is the start, and it may lead to some more name changes in the future.
One more reason behind the name change is Microsoft wants its products to reveal the range of features and advantages in the subscription. Microsoft 365 is an incorporated set of applications and services that allows AI and other innovative office productivity features to work for your business. Microsoft is always looking for ways to simplify the tasks for customers. The renaming idea is designed to help customers quickly find the plan they need and get back to their business.
Now let’s get into the brief of what it means by Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 Business.
What are Microsoft 365 Apps?
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise is known to be a highly productive and secure solution that offers Office productivity tools for enterprises. It enables your teams to work collectivity and seamlessly from anywhere, anytime.
What is Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus?
Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus is an Office version accessible through your active Microsoft Office 365 subscription. It is installed from the cloud on your local computer, and devices like smartphones and tablets. To use this plan, the users need an Office 365 account and an Internet connection to verify any assigned licenses and begin using the applications suite.
What is Microsoft 365 Business?
Microsoft 365 Business is popular as a subscription service, allowing you to run your organization in the cloud, and Microsoft looks after the IT for you. This plan helps for managing devices, protection against security threats, and offers the latest business software.
Concluding Note:
To help customers easily find the plan and streamline the business operations, Microsoft has assigned these new names to its plans. Now you can avoid confusion with the old and new names of the programs and make a better decision.
More on Microsoft 365 Plans:
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Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. To learn more about this name change, read this blog post. In our documentation, we'll usually just refer to it as Microsoft 365 Apps.
Office 365 ProPlus is the version of Office that comes with several enterprise, government, and education subscription plans. For example, Office 365 E5 and Office 365 A3. Even though those plans aren't being renamed, Office 365 ProPlus that comes with those plans will be renamed.
When does the new name take effect?
The new name will appear in Version 2004 onwards, starting on April 21, 2020. For example, the following screenshot is an example of what you'll see under the Product Information section when you go to File > Account in an Office app, such as Word.
Microsoft 365 Proplus Student
Starting with Version 2005, when you go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, you will see an entry similar to the following:
Microsoft 365 for enterprise – en-us
Older versions of Office 365 ProPlus won't be updated with the new name. For example, if you're using Version 1908 of Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel, you'll still see Office 365 ProPlus under the Product Information section and in Control Panel.
References to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise will begin to appear on April 21 in other places as well. For example, references on product websites, in documentation, and in the user interface (UI) of deployment tools, such as the Office Customization Tool. Some references to the new name might not occur until after April 21.
What do admins need to do?
Because of this name change, you might need to adjust some of your existing workflows and update your internal documentation.
Office Deployment Tool
If you use the Office Deployment Tool to deploy Office 365 ProPlus, the product ID will remain as O365ProPlusRetail. Therefore, you don't have to make any changes to your existing configuration.xml files.
Update packages used by Configuration Manager
If you use an automatic deployment rule (ADR) to deploy updates by using Configuration Manager, you'll need to make changes to your ADRs if they rely on the 'Title' property. That's because the name of update packages in the Microsoft Update Catalog is changing.
Currently, the title of an update package for Office 365 ProPlus begins with 'Office 365 Client Update' as seen in the following example:
Office 365 Client Update - Semi-annual Channel Version 1908 for x64 based Edition (Build 11929.20648)
For update packages released on and after June 9, the title will begin with 'Microsoft 365 Apps Update' as seen in the following example:
Microsoft 365 Apps Update - Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Version 1908 for x64 based Edition (Build 11929.50000)
Registry key values
Some registry key values might change to reflect the new naming. If you rely on these values in your workflows or scripts, you'll want to test your workflows or scripts when the name change begins rolling out on April 21. In general, because registry key values can possibly change in future builds of Office, we don't usually recommend relying on them in your workflows or scripts.
PowerShell scripts
There shouldn't be any changes needed to PowerShell scripts for licensing. The string ID and GUID that were used for Office 365 ProPlus in PowerShell cmdlets are the same string ID and GUID that are now used for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. But it's always a good idea to test your scripts before applying them broadly in your organization.
For more information about licensing identifiers used with PowerShell cmdlets, see Product names and service plan identifiers for licensing.