What Is Office 365?

It's familiar Microsoft Office collaboration and productivity tools delivered through the cloud. Everyone can work together easily with anywhere access to email, web conferencing, documents, and calendars. It includes business-class security and is backed by Microsoft. Whether you are a small business or multinational enterprise, Office 365 offers plans designed to fit your organization's unique needs. Learn more today. Office 365 delivers user productivity you can count on

Virtually anywhere-access* to email, important documents, contacts, and calendars on nearly any device (including PC, Mac, Windows Phone, iPhone, Android phones, Symbian phones, and BlackBerry**).

Office 365 works with the software your users already know and use like Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint.

Office 365 takes the worry out of IT

An easy-to-use administration console allows IT administrators to stay in control of user accounts, access rights, and organization-wide deployment. You can count on Microsoft, an industry leader in productivity, for reliability. Microsoft provides a financially-backed 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Office 365 for midsize businesses and enterprises (Plan E family)

Starting at just $10 per user/per month, these plans are designed for organizations with advanced IT needs including Active Directory Integration, advanced email archiving, 24x7 IT admin support and full enterprise voice capabilities on premises, or for organizations that want Office Professional Plus delivered as a subscription.

Office 365 for professionals and small businesses (Plan P)

Microsoft Office 365 for professionals and small businesses is a $6 per user/per month subscription service that lets you access your email, important documents, contacts, and calendar from virtually anywhere on almost any device*. This plan is ideal for organizations with fewer than 25 employees that do not have IT staff or expertise.

Anywhere and anytime

Access email, calendars, and contacts across PCs, the web and mobile phones.

Work from virtually anywhere

Work from almost anywhere and get automatically updated email, calendar, and contacts on the devices you use most, including PCs, Macintosh computers, iPhone, Android phones, Symbian phones, BlackBerry smartphones**, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phones*.

Easy to manage email

Get professional, easy-to-manage email. Office 365 provides each user with a 25-gigabyte (GB) mailbox and lets them send email messages up to 25 megabytes (MB). Connect with Microsoft Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2007 and use all of the rich Outlook functionality you already know and use, whether you are connected to the Internet at home or in the office or you are working offline.

Simplify scheduling
Easily schedule meetings by sharing calendars and viewing them side by side, so you can see your colleagues availability and suggested meeting times from your calendar. Access your email, calendar, and contacts from nearly any web browser while you keep the rich, familiar Outlook experience with Microsoft Outlook Web Apps

Business-class security
Help protect your organization from spam and viruses with Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange, which includes multiple filters and virus-scanning engines.

Microsoft Office 365 is a commercial software plus services offering a set of products fromMicrosoft Corporation, with the initial plan including a Professional subscription (for organizations of [2] 25 and smaller) and an Enterprise subscription (for organizations with more individuals). Office 365 was [3] announced in the autumn of 2010, and was made available to the public on 28 June 2011. Office 365 includes the Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications and hosted versions ofMicrosoft's Server products (including Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Lync Server), delivered and [4] [5] accessed over the Internet, in effect, the next version of Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). In December 2011, Microsoft launched Trust Center and announced that Office 365 now complies with [6] EU privacy regulations.

Contents
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1 Products

o o o o o

1.1 Microsoft Exchange Online 1.2 Microsoft SharePoint Online 1.3 Microsoft Lync Online 1.4 Office Professional Plus 1.5 Office Web Apps

2 Plans 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links

[edit]Products [edit]Microsoft

Exchange Online

Microsoft Exchange Online is an email, calendar and contacts solution delivered as a cloud service, hosted by Microsoft. The service is based on Microsoft Exchange server and offers 25 GB of email [7] storage per user. In addition, Exchange online offers users personalized calendars and contacts with [8] sharing capability and 99.9% reliability in online secure back-up. Exchange ActiveSync provides mobile connectivity to Exchange services and mobile email applications. [edit]Microsoft

SharePoint Online

Microsoft SharePoint Online is a collaboration, sharing, and document editing service using internal and [9] external sites. It can also be used to create public-facing Web sites. [edit]Microsoft

Lync Online

Microsoft Lync Online provides communications features including presence information, instant messaging, PC-to-PC audio/video calling and online meetings that can include PC audio, video and web conferencing with application sharing, whiteboards, and other collaboration tools. Lync Online is accessed through the Lync client. Lync Online also supports presence information and click-tocommunicate features inside Microsoft Office applications. Currently the Lync components of Office 365 [citation needed] exclude Lync's Enterprise Voice feature set. [edit]Office

Professional Plus

Microsoft Office Professional Plus in Office 365 provides the same client software as the Office Professional Plus product available through Microsoft Volume Licensing. Office Professional Plus in Office 365 has month-to-month, per-user licensing. It can be installed by users from Microsoft Online Services. It is activated using the same Microsoft Online Services ID that users employ to sign in to Office 365 and the license is renewed on a 30-day cycle.

[edit]Office

Web Apps

Office Web Apps are browser-based versions of Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint that enable viewing and lightweight editing of Office documents in Web browsers while preserving the formatting of the original documents. [edit]Plans Office 365 is available in a number of different plans aimed at different needs and market [11] segments, providing different sets of features at different price points. These include: Office 365 for enterprise: For businesses with internal or partner-supported IT staff and resources. Add on plans are available for information workers with dedicated PCs and kiosk workers (such as baristas or physicians) who share a PC and need only Web-based access. Office 365 for small business: Designed for businesses without dedicated IT staff or resources. Office 365 for education: Designed for schools and a replacement for the Office Live@edu service.
[10]

Microsoft has said that Office 365 will receive updates on a 90-day cycle. [edit]References
^ "Microsoft Office 365 FAQs Frequently Asked Questions" . Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2011. 2. 3. 4. ^ "About Office 365" . About Office 365. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved June 28, 2011. ^ "Microsoft Launches Office 365 Globally" . Microsoft. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011. ^ Hunt, Bob (12 November 2010). "What is Office 365?" . TechNet Blogs. Microsoft TechNet (Microsoft Corporation). Retrieved 5 June 2011. 5. ^ Kishor, Giriraj (28 December 2010). "Microsoft Office 365 beta a suite of business-focused, cloud-based applications" . TopNews United States. Top News Network. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 6. 7. 8. ^ Microsoft Office gets EU-Certified ^ "Microsoft Exchange Online" . Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved June 23, 2010. ^ "What is Microsoft Exchange Online?" . Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved June 23, 2010. 9. ^ "SharePoint Online" . Microsoft SharePoint Online. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved June 23, 2010.

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10. ^ "Office 365 Subscription Plans for Business and Education" . Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2011. 11. ^ "Is Office 365 Right for your Business" . Everon Technology. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
2. REDMOND, Wash. Oct. 19, 2010 Microsoft Corp. today announced Microsoft Office 365, the companys next generation in cloud productivity that brings together Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service. Office 365 makes it easier for millions more organizations to get and use Microsofts award-winning business productivity solutions via the cloud. With Office 365, people can work together more easily from

anywhere on virtually any device, while collaborating with others inside and outside their organization in a simple and highly secure way. As part of todays news, Microsoft is also opening a limited beta program for Office 365 in 13 countries and regions.

3.

Office 365 is built on years of experience delivering industry-leading business cloud services ranging from the first browser-based e-mail to todays Business Productivity Online Suite, Microsoft Office Live Small Business and Live@edu. Moving to the cloud with Office 365 means people dont have to change the way they work, because Office 365 works with the most popular browsers, smartphones and desktop applications people use today.

4.

Office 365 is the best of everything we know about productivity, all in a single cloud service, said Kurt DelBene, president of the Office Division at Microsoft. With Office 365, your local bakery can get enterprise-caliber software and services for the first time, while a multinational pharmaceutical company can reduce costs and more easily stay current with the latest innovations. People can focus on their business, while we and our partners take care of the technology.

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Microsoft worked closely with existing customers to develop Office 365, resulting in a cloud service that is designed to meet a wide range of customer needs. With Office 365 for small businesses, professionals and small companies with fewer than 25 employees can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online and an external website in just 15 minutes, for $6 or 5.25 euros per user, per month1.

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For a small business, Office 365 is a perfect way to start, said Rob Nichols, chief technology officer of Allovus Design, a graphic design firm and member of Microsofts Customer Advisory Board for Office 365. It has all the features we need, and we can come out of the gate with the same tools the big guys have on day one.

8.

Office 365 for enterprises introduces an array of choices for midsize and large businesses as well as government organizations, starting for as little as $2 or 1.75 euros per user, per month1 for basic email. Office 365 for enterprises also includes the option to get Microsoft Office Professional Plus desktop software on a pay-as-you-go basis, for the first time ever. For $24 or 22.75 euros per user, per month1, organizations can get Office Professional Plus along with e-mail, voicemail, enterprise social networking, instant messaging, Web portals, extranets, voiceconferencing and videoconferencing, webconferencing, 24x7 phone support, on-premises licenses, and more.

9.

Office 365 creates new growth opportunities for Microsoft and its partners by reaching more customers and types of workers and meeting more business IT needs all while cutting costs for customers.

10. Product Availability 11. Office 365 will be available worldwide next year. Starting today, Microsoft will begin testing Office 365 with a few thousand organizations in 13 countries and regions around the world, and the beta will be expanded to include more organizations over time. Office 365 will be generally available in 40 countries and regions next year. 12. Later next year, Office 365 will expand to include Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to provide Microsofts complete business productivity experience to organizations of all types and sizes. In addition, Office 365 for education will debut later next year, giving students, faculty and school employees powerful technology tailored specifically to their needs. 13. Today at 12 p.m. PDT, Microsoft will launch http://www.Office365.com . Customers and partners can sign up for the Office 365 beta and learn more at that site, or follow Office 365 on Twitter (@Office365), Facebook (Office 365), or the new Office 365 blog at http://community.office365.com to get the latest information. 14. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. 15.
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Minimum seat is one.

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17. Microsoft Office 365: the Web Apps header

18. Office 365 is a relaunch of Microsoft's clumsily named Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). Bizarrely, it's also referred to on Microsoft's own website as Business Productivity Online Software and Services giving the impression that the branding was never quite spot on. 19. The basic Office 365 package is an upgrade to the 2010 versions of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Online and Live Meeting the last two of which have become one and are now known as Lync. More interesting though are the additional Office Software Online options that it brings. You can have online web apps at a small extra cost, and for a bit more subscribe to full Microsoft Office. 20. Despite cynics referring to this as a glorified rebranding exercise, the inclusion of the most commonly used office software in the world certainly adds a massive edge. Furthermore, the increase in options in SharePoint 2010 and Outlook Web access 2010 is considerable. 21. BPOS customers can relax in the knowledge that their subscription will soon be upgraded, while others who bought traditional SharePoint and Exchange spent a week installing it and

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setting it up on an expensive server will be on the same old system, eyeing their competition jealously as their productivity increases along with their new software. Okay, it might not be that dramatic, but when future upgrades happen and the cost of new servers and server maintenance don't rear their ugly heads it will have a big effect on costs and continuity. Old servers can be a dangerous game if not backed up, as massive data loss can be terminal especially to small businesses. This approaches another big improvement the provision to subscribe with fewer than five users, which puts cost-conscious small businesses in a position to pay a fair price and have a system that can grow with them. A subscription to Office, for instance, can save a startup company thousands on initial software expenditure, meaning they can pay as they start to make money rather than at start up. If you're new to the cloud, then it is worth pointing out that all of this basically means that you move one or two of the big servers in your office into the bin and access everything instead from Microsoft's servers. Microsoft Exchange syncs perfectly with your local Outlook and can be accessed anywhere online using Outlook Web App (previously Outlook Web Access yes, the name changes are endless) which is used to manage email, calendars, contacts and tasks. A full Personal Information Manager in the cloud is a massive bonus, and the Outlook Web App means you have most of the functions of your desktop Outlook at your fingertips wherever you are, not just when you're on your own PC. The range of options and features are vast in comparison to the 2007 OWA and gives users a great deal more flexibility in how they manage their email and time.

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the Home Page

Microsoft Office 365:

27. A common misconception about cloud services is that in order to work you need to be online. I agree that this need for connection is a major drawback, and one that Google Apps Premier has in buckets. (You can't even change a Google spreadsheet or document if you're not online. This may change later this year with offline HTML5 versions, but for now it's a big hassle.) 28. This is where Microsoft really shines: OWA syncs with your on-premises Outlook. Equally, Office 365 supports the SharePoint Workspace offline tool, meaning you can work on your desktop and then sync with the cloud when you are connected. If you've used SharePoint 2010, which is a big improvement on 2007, the online version is virtually the same. The

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familiar MS Office style means that it is easy for anyone familiar with Microsoft software to learn. It's perhaps unfair that Microsoft has the inherent advantage of a familiar user interface, but nevertheless it does and that's all there is to it. SharePoint is a great document management tool. It can be made as simple or complex as you like with its greatest advantage being its one size fits all approach (and equally perhaps its greatest drawback). Many users like the basic approached offered by a shared drive, rather than the complexities of document management and so simple document storage facilities can be setup for access by groups of users with as much filing and process as you deem suitable. SharePoint 2010 in Office 365 can also be used as a public-facing web presence with easyadd features such as maps and PayPal integration. By clicking the website button in a team site, you're taken straight to an online web page. This isn't a full solution and is obviously not going to remove the need for a website; however, while designing your site, it can be very useful as a landing page. For companies that don't spend much time on the web, or much money on IT, it can provide that simple web presence which will allow people to verify your company as essentially "real". Before or after meetings, everyone invariably checks a company's website; if there's nothing there, then it certainly doesn't look good. Finally, there's Lync 2010, combining instant messaging with web conferencing. This can definitely save time and money we've found through BPOS that the OCO (IM) is very well received. It's a product linking all of a company's users, and one which definitely saves money and sometimes deals. When sitting in a meeting with your laptop, you essentially have a silent line to those back in your office. You can basically get questions answered by colleagues without clients even knowing that you've asked them. (Well, apart from the frantic typing, perhaps.) It's something that many companies never knew they would benefit from until they have it. Unfortunately, there's no telephone integration yet, although it's something that is coming in one form or another. Still, it's easy to allow external users and to invite people to video and audio conferences which, especially for a small business, is extremely powerful software feature given the price. You can also effectively present online through desktop sharing which, if it suits your business model, can save time and money.

33.
the IT Management dashboard

Microsoft Office 365:

34. Beyond these functions you have your options on MS Office software. This can be delivered via web apps or via a full blown PC download. The subscription service will take away a large amount of focus on basic software upgrades. The Web Apps have the added features which originally made Google Apps really stand out - such as live, collaborative document editing. Obviously with this tied in with Lync you can create collaborative works with extreme efficiency regardless of locality. You can also use SharePoint Workspace to work with documents when you're offline, synchronizing with Office 365 when you have a connection. 35. The integration with Office 365 and your desktop is very simple. OWA can sync with Outlook 2010 at the click of a button and you can sync both your work desktop and your home PC very easily. 36. Office 365 is the product Microsoft should have released in the first place. The previous name was never up to scratch and the 2007 software, made slimline for the cloud, felt like a kneejerk reaction to Google Apps. No doubt Microsoft had to react, but Office 365 feels more robust. 37. The financial savings over time will be significant and although its price point is a lot higher than Google Apps, I think the options and familiarity are vastly superior. The desktop software almost moves it away from comparison with Google Apps; perhaps most important of all is the free phone administrator support, which has always been a major advantage (and cost) that even BPOS had over Google Apps. 38. Office 365 is officially launched on Tuesday 28 June. It has taken a while, but Microsoft may well have put itself back in pole position in the Software as a Service battle. 39. Andrew Gradwell has experience in all levels of IT, as a user, support engineer and a company director. Heading up Cloud Hypermarket , he is on a mission to bring cloud savings to companies that really need it, rather than those it is most profitable to sell to.