Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365

In April of 2021, Microsoft decided to switch the naming convention of their productivity suite from Office 365 to Microsoft 365. This didn't change any of the current license offerings and simply changed the naming conventions. They also added more options under the Microsoft 365 platform with more features that weren't offered with any other license types. Essentially, Microsoft 365 is more of a bundled option with an emphasis around compliance, advanced security and voice, among other things. Whereas, Office 365 focuses on productivity with only the necessary compliance and security features.

Office 365

​​There aren't many licenses that are stilled called Office 365 anymore, and almost all licenses were changed to the Microsoft 365 naming convention, including Business offerings, but they did keep the Office 365 Enterprise licensing in place. Here is what they currently offer in Office 365 Enterprise:

The license features didn't change at all and you are still getting everything that you were before the name change to the more inclusive Microsoft 365: productivity applications, advanced analytics, threat protection, device management, and more depending on the license type.

Microsoft 365

​​As mentioned, Microsoft 365 is a more holistic, bundled option that will give the user and more complete experience in terms of the complete Microsoft products and features. According to Microsoft, they changed the name to be more reflective of the range of features and benefits, and to meet the unique needs of businesses, so the user will get more features surrounded around Windows OS, advanced security, threat protection, compliance management and voice capabilities. Where you were paying for these items in separate licensing before, they are now offered in a bundle with M365 and you can pay less  for more with the bundle. As they have categorized Business and Enterprise licensing under Microsoft 365, the features will change based on the licensing that is chosen, but bundled nonetheless. Here are the M365 offerings:

Understanding the difference between the two naming conventions will really help when trying to choose the best licensing for you business. RyanTech has clients using all types of M365 and O365 licensing based on consultations with us. We are more than happy to go through what the needs and goals are for your business, and choose the licensing that best suites those. We have more knowledge than we know what to do with when it comes to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licensing and can certainly point you in the right direction.