Microsoft's confidence in enforcing this monthly fee on users comes, I suspect, from seeing what happened to Adobe when it introduced a monthly fee for its products such as Photoshop. Initially, there was a firestorm - can't use the other more appropriate word on a forum - of criticism on user sites such as dpreview, and I noticed that Adobe's share price dipped during that period - but Adobe just pushed ahead, and presumably everyone just sucked it in. After all, what can you do. So Microsoft figures, if I just go ahead and send in troops with no insignia, what's everybody going to do? Create sanctions? After a while, life carries on as normal.
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Microsoft Launches 'Office 365 Personal' Plan for One Mac and One iPad at $69/Year
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I run a small business and use Office 365. It was cheaper for me to pay the $150.00 per user and get the benefits of exchange without the costs of a server. I use nothing but Apple products at home, but when it comes to my business it's much simpler to use Microsoft.
That's what I've always said. Unfortunately some software I need does not work that way. I have no choice (but at least work pays for it).
Am I the only who one who noticed that $69/year does NOT equal $6.99/month? That would be 10 months in a year not 12 months...it's $83.88/year.
No, but you're the only one that doesn't realize that there are two different rates.... $6.99 is the monthly rate, $69 is the yearly rate if you pay for the year upfront.
Legit! Still, I already have 2008 with 2 licenses used and one still available and a single license of 2011 in use. Something to consider though.
That's pretty much what I'm looking for. I'm self-employed, and if it included Exchange, $69/year would be competitive with what I would pay other hosts for just Exchange. That actually would be more valuable to me than the Office part.
So is $50 for the new speck hard case for the new, slimmer rMBP and AppleCare for $280.
If you pay $169 he doesn't come at all. And there's a free version too but if you opt for that Ballmer comes over every Sunday to sit on your couch and drink beer.
So what you're saying here is, Nadella is Vladimir Putin of software. I hadn't thought of that before, but I'm going to have a hard time forgetting it now.
You don't have a very good concept of value.
What incentive does the company have to improve their product in a subscription model? People will keep needing to use the office suite and they will pay to do so. MS keeps the revenue, even if they don't spend the resources on a 'new' version.
You would think, but my phone is corporate, cost me nothing; de rest is hardware only.
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Well, there is one other big difference (which I don't like): if you 'buy' software it is yours for ever, if you subscribe, you own nothing when you stop the subscription. It is a kind of a lease.
The sneaky part is that the monthly fees seems low, which it isn't in the long run.
PS: it is the NPV of $69 year after year, not just once.
That's the threat... isn't it.
They've got you locked into a subscription... so they can sit back... do nothing... and just keep collecting their monthly fee.
I don't think that's gonna happen, though.
People had the same worries about Adobe... that they'll just keep collecting your money and never make any more updates.
But they've had quite a few major updates to Creative Cloud in less time that the normal 18 month upgrade cycle. And I would imagine Microsoft Office will too.
The constant update cycle has quite a few benefits. The big one is being able to release features as they are ready... instead of waiting for the next "version" to be released.
And the company has some accounting benefits by using a subscription model. I don't know those details but you can look it up.
All in all... I don't think you should be worried about Microsoft ceasing to improve their products.
When reading all these comments, I can't help but thing...
What happened to the "if it's free, you're the product" you all love when we talk about google?
So you don't want to "be the product", yet you don't want to pay either. Companies are here to make money, not to provide you software for free you know.
What happened to the "if it's free, you're the product" you all love when we talk about google?
So you don't want to "be the product", yet you don't want to pay either. Companies are here to make money, not to provide you software for free you know.
Coming from a Windows background moving to a Macbook Air I found everything was alien, installing Word helped settle me in. The only thing is the most recent Mac version is definitely an inferior product. Very buggy and some little features I used not in it. MS need to get the new versions out quicktime. For $69 I would give a new version a chance.
I'm currently subscribing to Adobe Creative Cloud which I have to, to use certain tools but definitely not something I can do long term. In an age of piracy I get that publishers want a yearly revenue but I feel this is a business model that is not sustainable as it just adds significantly more costs for honest consumers. Publishers should offer a choice of buying a complete version of their software, and subscriptions for people who might just need it for a year or two.
I'm currently subscribing to Adobe Creative Cloud which I have to, to use certain tools but definitely not something I can do long term. In an age of piracy I get that publishers want a yearly revenue but I feel this is a business model that is not sustainable as it just adds significantly more costs for honest consumers. Publishers should offer a choice of buying a complete version of their software, and subscriptions for people who might just need it for a year or two.
This business model is the typical model in the enterprise. businesses pay an annual fee for some of the major enterprise applications that their businesses run. I'd say given the long history of such (IBM had been doing that since the creation of mainframes) that it is sustainable.
I signed up for Office365 about 3 years ago. I got the Small Business Package specifically so I could use my own domain, but I got the option without the office license - $60 a year. I'll be going to the $150 option that includes the license this June for a few reasons, mainly because I need the newer versions of office to do some work with specific clients. I'd like to have current versions on all my devices, and the subscription is much cheaper than buying a bunch of licenses.
Some other thoughts on Office365:
1) As another member mentioned, I can (and do) deduct the expense.
2) Exchange. Really. Exchange is the gold standard. I hacked around with iCloud, and Google and had nothing but problems getting all my devices in sync. Some things synced just fine, others would be missing data, and the interfaces were always different and half-baked. In the 3 years I've been on Office365, I've had zero problems with Exchange. Everything syncs on all my devices, and I even have it in the cloud. So, yeah, Exchange has easily been worth the price of the entire subscription.
3) Syncs all my docs with Sharepoint (OneDrive for business basically), on all my devices. Everything is accessible on my devices and the cloud. I can get stuff done anywhere on basically anything.
A number of my clients have tried the iCloud route because it's free and "it's also an apple product so it has to work". After it wiped out the work calendar for one (and attorney) for the 4th time, he had enough. Happy as a clam with zero problems after 2 years. Another can't use iCloud integration with his Mac because it's too old, and Apple doesn't support it on is OSX version. He switched about 3 months ago and couldn't be happier to be able to sync all his information again.
While you need to have a small business or enterprise subscription to use your own domain, it's fairly easy to use forwarding for email to send from your other accounts. Domain use, space (Onedrive/Sharepoint), and Active Directory integration are the major differences between Home, Small Business, and Enterprise.
Office365 isn't for everyone, and subscriptions aren't for everyone, but the Office365 subscription isn't just a software license, it is actual services. I don't get the hate for paying for that kind of value. If you don't use office or need all the bells and whistles, that's great for you. If you need them or want exchange services for your email, $69 or even $99 as a non-deductible expense is still an absolute steal. All that for $150 deductible doesn't even require thought.
Some other thoughts on Office365:
1) As another member mentioned, I can (and do) deduct the expense.
2) Exchange. Really. Exchange is the gold standard. I hacked around with iCloud, and Google and had nothing but problems getting all my devices in sync. Some things synced just fine, others would be missing data, and the interfaces were always different and half-baked. In the 3 years I've been on Office365, I've had zero problems with Exchange. Everything syncs on all my devices, and I even have it in the cloud. So, yeah, Exchange has easily been worth the price of the entire subscription.
3) Syncs all my docs with Sharepoint (OneDrive for business basically), on all my devices. Everything is accessible on my devices and the cloud. I can get stuff done anywhere on basically anything.
A number of my clients have tried the iCloud route because it's free and "it's also an apple product so it has to work". After it wiped out the work calendar for one (and attorney) for the 4th time, he had enough. Happy as a clam with zero problems after 2 years. Another can't use iCloud integration with his Mac because it's too old, and Apple doesn't support it on is OSX version. He switched about 3 months ago and couldn't be happier to be able to sync all his information again.
While you need to have a small business or enterprise subscription to use your own domain, it's fairly easy to use forwarding for email to send from your other accounts. Domain use, space (Onedrive/Sharepoint), and Active Directory integration are the major differences between Home, Small Business, and Enterprise.
Office365 isn't for everyone, and subscriptions aren't for everyone, but the Office365 subscription isn't just a software license, it is actual services. I don't get the hate for paying for that kind of value. If you don't use office or need all the bells and whistles, that's great for you. If you need them or want exchange services for your email, $69 or even $99 as a non-deductible expense is still an absolute steal. All that for $150 deductible doesn't even require thought.
I think you're mixing apples and oranges with your post. Most people posting here will have no desire to use MS Exchange, its a business app, they're more interested in documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
For people who whine about O365 subscription model, do you know that they still selling the old style one time payment office?
For big companies, cashflow is highly appreciated. Subscription model reduce their upfront cost.
Microsoft making this product not only thinking of you. They see bigger picture. If you don't like it and have better alternative, go for it. No one forcing you to buy/subscribe
For big companies, cashflow is highly appreciated. Subscription model reduce their upfront cost.
Microsoft making this product not only thinking of you. They see bigger picture. If you don't like it and have better alternative, go for it. No one forcing you to buy/subscribe
Which is exactly the point I'm making. People are ranting about $69 being too expensive to just have Word or Excel on their iPad, not realizing/acknowledging that the Office365 subsciption also gets them exchange and other services. Those services Make those applications work - both in terms of managing licenses and performing file management akin to iCloud.
I suppose it would be possible for Microsoft to build a different version of the iPad apps that were stand alone, but then they'd have to have those apps as distinct from the ones that work with Office365. And for what? So that some people who by their own admission are only occasional users and only begrudgingly? Now they have two apps to support and update, and probably tons of user complaints regarding having the wrong one. File management becomes messy - email and iTunes sync with storage in the app, maybe some sort of local wifi? Why would Microsoft bother?
I get that people are complaining that $69 is too much for office on your iPad, but that's not what this is, so it's like complaining that my Tahoe doesn't get the gas mileage of a Prius when all I need it for is the one day a month when I to drive to work. Perhaps it's just not for you, and there is no business incentive to create one that is.