Microsoft Office to Become 'Microsoft 365' in Biggest Brand Overhaul in More Than 30 Years

[Supermacguy]

Can I get a 365il? Or maybe all wheel drive 365xi? I bet they no longer offer a diesel 365d. The performance version M365 is the one you want tho.

 

[icanhazmac]

You want cloud features.

Nope. There are many options for this I do not need it uselessly bundled in a productivity suite.

You want constant updates.

No, I only want the software to work with my OS be it Windows or MacOS, bug fixes and "emergency" security updates as needed (of course I wouldn't need bug fixes or security updates if the software were properly written in the first place). If the yearly/-biyearly updates provided any value people would buy them, but they don't.

You want 24/7 support.

No, I have never called MS for Office support and I have been using it since Office 95.

You want it across all your devices.

Nope, computer only.

A one-time fee simply doesn't provide the necessary income to support this. A subscription model does, plus it allows users always to receive the latest version of the software.

MS needs the sub model because their Office updates do not provide any value! Arguably the only thing of value, for the average user, they have added since Office 2003 is the cloud service and most people have other options for that. I bought Office 2003 and ran it basically until I was forced to use 365 for work. At home I use the Apple suite.

Subs are just the path for devs to continue their revenue stream while not really providing any real value. If MS added something great to Office every year or two people would buy new licenses but guess what? They don't. Again, the vast majority of people would happily be using Office 2003 right now if they could.

 

[hortod1]

365 = how many days your subscription is good for

 

[IIGS User]

They did that 365 "migration" at my work place about a year ago. Migration. Like we're all picking up our 12+ yr old WinTel boxes and moving them across the frozen tundra to a new land while "Immigrant Song" by Led Zep plays in the background.

Outlook, Word, and Excel all look the same to me. I use Word a lot for reports, and Excel mostly to fill out prepared forms and I know little else about it.

I downloaded Office for my Mac through the discount program provided by my employer (government). If memory serves it was less than $30 for the whole shmear. Which is reasonable IMHO.

It has been helpful to be able to do reports at home without remoting into the Windows box on my desk. Some of the databases I use to complete my work are highly restricted and the only way I can access them off site is to VPN into my office computer. As soon as I get what I need, I log out of it.

So I'm stuck using MSFT for the virtual desktop all ready, and to be honest Office (or whatever it's called now) isn't a horrible product and I'm used to it so that's a plus. But we all know MSFT is and always will be a money machine. Which Apple is too, so that's kinda ironic....

 

[Jamo12]

I feel like I'm suffering from Deja Vu suddenly when I see members on here moaning about subscription models. I literally just wrote a post on this topic on another thread.

Here's the full article, but below is a summary of what I said: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...tures-and-complications.2365350/post-31617006

People have a very narrow-minded view of subscriptions and simply bemoan them without thinking about why companies are taking this approach. Times have changed people.

It was a very different world in software development before subscription models existed. Only Windows and Mac versions existed. Sometimes it was just the one. There were fewer updates. You didn't expect the developers to support a cloud platform. You also had lower support expectations as you didn't expect a reply within the day.

With a sub-model, you are supporting your favourite software. You are supporting the development and future of the product, and you are paying for the ongoing costs.

So before whining about subscription models, how about you look at why the economics of products have changed? You want cloud features. You want constant updates. You want 24/7 support. You want it across all your devices.

A one-time fee simply doesn't provide the necessary income to support this. A subscription model does, plus it allows users always to receive the latest version of the software.

Cloud data needs to be stored somewhere and this has costs yet we want more and more storage. Who pays for this? Who pays for the developers constantly delivering updates? Who pays for their business costs? Who pays for their marketing, research and more? Do you think it's all free?

Finally, many moan about subscription costs yet everyone is completely oblivious to the fact that we all laughed at the iPhones launch price of $600, yet nobody bats an eyelid today spending $1600 on today's 13 Pro Max....(double the cost if you were to value it in today's money).

I'm not saying all software should be subscription based. Small utilities and accessories don't deserve this, but full-fledged packages (even from the likes of Microsoft and Adobe), are well-suited to subscription models.

I agree that subscription models are good for ongoing and growing businesses and there are some consumer positives (like you mentioned, always up to date, also it is less of an upfront cost which causes it to be available to more than just the financially well-off.)

People are not inherently upset at the subscription model. It’s when companies do not offer a ‘buy once - use forever’ option, even one that will not be updated, where people get upset.

Many people like to own things, not rent it. Generally that is less expensive in the long run.

 

[chevyboy60013]

Ok snob. Because we all needed to know you support mediocrity.

Anything made by microsoft is pure crapola and utter garbage.

 

[ttaylor2258]

I feel like I'm suffering from Deja Vu suddenly when I see members on here moaning about subscription models. I literally just wrote a post on this topic on another thread.

Here's the full article, but below is a summary of what I said: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...tures-and-complications.2365350/post-31617006

People have a very narrow-minded view of subscriptions and simply bemoan them without thinking about why companies are taking this approach. Times have changed people.

It was a very different world in software development before subscription models existed. Only Windows and Mac versions existed. Sometimes it was just the one. There were fewer updates. You didn't expect the developers to support a cloud platform. You also had lower support expectations as you didn't expect a reply within the day.

With a sub-model, you are supporting your favourite software. You are supporting the development and future of the product, and you are paying for the ongoing costs.

So before whining about subscription models, how about you look at why the economics of products have changed? You want cloud features. You want constant updates. You want 24/7 support. You want it across all your devices.

A one-time fee simply doesn't provide the necessary income to support this. A subscription model does, plus it allows users always to receive the latest version of the software.

Cloud data needs to be stored somewhere and this has costs yet we want more and more storage. Who pays for this? Who pays for the developers constantly delivering updates? Who pays for their business costs? Who pays for their marketing, research and more? Do you think it's all free?

Finally, many moan about subscription costs yet everyone is completely oblivious to the fact that we all laughed at the iPhones launch price of $600, yet nobody bats an eyelid today spending $1600 on today's 13 Pro Max....(double the cost if you were to value it in today's money).

I'm not saying all software should be subscription based. Small utilities and accessories don't deserve this, but full-fledged packages (even from the likes of Microsoft and Adobe), are well-suited to subscription models.

I'll pass on this whole comment. Subscription models add up, everything is seemingly going this way. You wind up spending more in the long run. I absolutely despise everything about the subscription model. I don't always need the latest and greatest updates, and I bet most don't either. So we're forced to pay for stuff we don't need on a daily basis.

Plus in my office, we're all on different setups with different operating systems. It's very costly to get everyone on the same system (we're on anywhere from 2013 iMacs, 2017 iMac Pros to 2020 iMac's. with about 100 total setups) Some people have upgraded to the latest versions of InDesign, some can't upgrade. That means we have to back-save every InDesign file so everyone can open it. I'm constantly getting messages that illustrator files won't open properly because our design team is using the newest version of Illustrator and I'm not.

The yearly cost for putting our office on this model is the cost of 2-3 employees per year. And if the software keeps updating, you need to virtually continually upgrade your computers every few years to be able to use or take advantage of the new features. It's all just so costly in the long run. Big time pass on anything subscription. We still use Office 2011 because we only need basic Excel or Word functions, eventually our company will need to upgrade and that's just more sunken monthly costs. And eventually, I'd bet it means hiring less people to offset those rising monthly & yearly costs.

 

[mikethemartian]

I think Microsoft Office sounds better. What does the “365” pertain to? It makes me think of Whole Foods 365.

It means that the license doesn’t cover usage on Leap Day.

 

[webkit]

$69.99/year is still a lot cheaper than the $949 (over $2,200 in today's dollars) suggested retail price for MS Office when it was announced for the Macintosh in 1989. Of course, similar can be said about prices for a lot of software...and hardware.

 

[RUQRU]

Interesting how many of you disliked (even were angry), with my last comment. I challenge you then. How many of you actually purchased a genuine full software license for Microsoft Office? I would hazard a guess, very few of you.

Microsoft Office was one of the most pirated software packages in existence. Why? Because it was so expensive, so few people bought it. Subscriptions makes that price more affordable and will in turn reduce piracy and add more cloud services.

How few of your see this, is amusing.

Back in the day (you know the one) MS offered something called HUP - Home User Program - to companies that had site licenses. Employees could buy all the office apps for $9.95 each. It was a pretty good deal.

 

[Shirasaki]

I use Office 365 Business Essential and each month is $17. Fortunately, I use Office applications daily, and that paid email was used heavily enough so the price is justified.
Still, I feel Microsoft is accelerating the process to transition the company to a service provider and cloud provider.

 

[zubikov]

Subscription service life is depressing. Every file saved, song liked, document edited and picture taken...something in the back of your mind tells you that you don't own it, and that you're not in control of your digital life without payments into perpetuity.

Purchased software gives you a sense of control over switching vendors and ownership. I know that Apple, Microsoft and Google will market their subscription services very effectively, and tell you that you're better off with constant updates and improvements. But IMO the truth is that you don't use those updates, and you just lock yourself into a life of payments to these enormously large companies.

I know that fighting this trend is futile, but nonetheless is sad that this is where we ended up.

 

[T Coma]

I don’t understand the rename one bit. These changes for change’s sake in any environment are to no advantage in the majority of cases unless trying to mislead / disguise some bad-for-business history. And petty jokes aside, that’s not MS’s intent here. Like others have said, the suite will almost definitely continue to be popularly known as MS Office at least until the Gen Xers disappear.

Anyway, I continue to buy annual family subscriptions on ebay for at least 20% less than direct price, my boomer parents are able to continue using the office formats to which they are accustomed, and significantly, we get 6 TB worth of cloud space. That alone makes it worth the price of admission. For our purposes, 6 TB of remote redundant storage for say $75/year is a better deal than 2 TB for $120.

 

[Martyimac]

Without reading this whole thread here is my take. I quit buying Office after Microsoft made a change that prevented Outlook from using my contacts. Before that all worked well. For my usage scenario I have found LibreOffice does everything I need it to do, and yes I made a donation to them. The mail app syncs with my contacts like I wanted Outlook to do and since I am retired, I don't need all the extras that Outlook AND the mail app have available.

 

[AltecX]

You want Office on your computer even if you don’t use it often.

Choice (in Canada):
- Office 365 at $79 a year subscription. After five years you’ve spent $500 and counting, for something you hardly usr.
- Office Home & Student = $169 purchase. Use it as long as your device functions.

365’s only advantage is you can transfer it to another machine at no cost, but in the long run you still pay more. A lot more. 365 comes with Outlook, but it’s meaningless because anyone can get Outlook without having to get Office. 365 for someone who uses it for business could find it appealing because they can write it off as an expense.

Subscriptions are just a way to extort money out of people by luring them with the appeal of low periodic cost. But add it up and it ain’t cheap.


I have Office on my 2011 iMac since new, but had to replace it because replacing my HDD with SSD in 2019 made it think it was another computer. I just installed a new version of Office. If I had been using 365 that would have cost me $869 plus taxes, practically a thousand bucks, for something I use periodically. As is it has cost $298 (based on today’s pricing as I don’t recall what I paid for office back in 2011).

I use Word because I don’t care for Pages. Yes, Pages can convert to a Word document, but you do have to convert it. Word is pretty much universal and I find it easier to understand and use—the only thing Microsoft I can actually say that about.

Your ignoring the other parts of 365, like the 1TB of OneDrive. That alone is great for me as its included and I just save all my stuff to it and have not lost a file in like 5 years even after a drive failure. For Google and iCloud 1+TB of Storage is already $120/yr. So how I see it is that I'm getting my 1TB cloud storage and then I'm getting Office for free with that.

5yrs of 365 is $316
5yrs of iCloud 2TB is $600

Why would I pay almost double?

 

[return2sendai]

I have been Office 365 subscriber for the last 10 years so not sure what the news are. I pay $99 a year for the whole 365 suite which includes 60 mins Skype international calls, OneDrive and I can install the whole suite in 5 computers (Mac or Windows) + 5 portable devices and also share my subscription with 5 family members or friends who can also install the suite in 5 computers + 5 portable devices and each one of them also get OneDrive + 60 mins Skype International Calls.

I Skype my mum (in the UK) from here in Japan every two weeks. It cost me absolutely nothing.

 

[sracer]

I feel like I'm suffering from Deja Vu suddenly when I see members on here moaning about subscription models. I literally just wrote a post on this topic on another thread.

Here's the full article, but below is a summary of what I said: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...tures-and-complications.2365350/post-31617006

People have a very narrow-minded view of subscriptions and simply bemoan them without thinking about why companies are taking this approach. Times have changed people.

It was a very different world in software development before subscription models existed. Only Windows and Mac versions existed. Sometimes it was just the one. There were fewer updates. You didn't expect the developers to support a cloud platform. You also had lower support expectations as you didn't expect a reply within the day.

With a sub-model, you are supporting your favourite software. You are supporting the development and future of the product, and you are paying for the ongoing costs.

So before whining about subscription models, how about you look at why the economics of products have changed? You want cloud features. You want constant updates. You want 24/7 support. You want it across all your devices.

A one-time fee simply doesn't provide the necessary income to support this. A subscription model does, plus it allows users always to receive the latest version of the software.

Cloud data needs to be stored somewhere and this has costs yet we want more and more storage. Who pays for this? Who pays for the developers constantly delivering updates? Who pays for their business costs? Who pays for their marketing, research and more? Do you think it's all free?

Finally, many moan about subscription costs yet everyone is completely oblivious to the fact that we all laughed at the iPhones launch price of $600, yet nobody bats an eyelid today spending $1600 on today's 13 Pro Max....(double the cost if you were to value it in today's money).

I'm not saying all software should be subscription based. Small utilities and accessories don't deserve this, but full-fledged packages (even from the likes of Microsoft and Adobe), are well-suited to subscription models.

I haven't read any posts on the subject here at MR that would indicate people are confused or aren't thinking about why companies are taking this approach. We are well aware of why they're doing this. We simply disagree that the subscription model is not beneficial for us.

Your generalizations don't reflect the reality of the situation or the complexity of the customer base.

So before whining about subscription models, how about you look at why the economics of products have changed? You want cloud features. You want constant updates. You want 24/7 support. You want it across all your devices.

You are assuming that all customers want new features and updates. Not all do.

I don't want constant updates. I don't want 24/7 support. I want to pay a single fixed price for a predetermined license use. I want to be able to use that application for as long as those initial conditions exist without the steady drain on my wallet because of a subscription.

"Subscription" is simply a euphemism for "Renting".

Your defense of the rental model seems to ignore the reality of renting software that is detrimental to customers...

• Not every new feature to an app is welcomed.
• Not every update retains all previous functions.
• Bug fixes to a particular version are often tied to updating the app which will pull in those new features (that may be unwanted) or remove functions that were previously present.
• The developer can cease operations leaving the customer stuck with an app they can't use, and even more importantly, data they can't access in the same manner as they could with the app.
• The developer can change the rental rate.

One force behind switching to a rental model for software has to do with the Open Source movement. When a customer is faced with paying $200 for MS Office or using LibreOffice for free, unless they have a specific reason to pick Office, they'll go with free.

So to overcome the psychology of that purchase decision, they switch to a rental model that allows them to advertise a lower number (not necessarily lower cost). So the decision becomes... "do I spend $10 a month to get MS Office plus other "freebies", or get LibreOffice for free?" That is a much easier sell.

It's the same reason why cell phone service providers have "free" handsets but have a monthly cost attached to it (beyond the cost of cell service).

There will always be those people who want to outright purchase things and own them. There will be others who don't mind renting their cars, their phones, their media, or their software.

Rather than deride people who have different priorities as "moaning" and "whining", let's focus on helping others decide whether purchasing or renting is better for their particular needs and wants.

 

[Martyimac]

Your ignoring the other parts of 365, like the 1TB of OneDrive. That alone is great for me as its included and I just save all my stuff to it and have not lost a file in like 5 years even after a drive failure. For Google and iCloud 1+TB of Storage is already $120/yr. So how I see it is that I'm getting my 1TB cloud storage and then I'm getting Office for free with that.

5yrs of 365 is $316
5yrs of iCloud 2TB is $600

Why would I pay almost double?

All your points are well made. Except, I have a backup on an external SSD of ALL my data including my documents. So I don't worry about losing them. I have NO need or desire to store my docs on the cloud and pay only for the first tier of apples iCloud to sync my photos to my other  devices. Everybody is going to have different usage needs and these are mine. YMMV.

 

[timber]

Interesting how many of you disliked (even were angry), with my last comment. I challenge you then. How many of you actually purchased a genuine full software license for Microsoft Office? I would hazard a guess, very few of you.

Microsoft Office was one of the most pirated software packages in existence. Why? Because it was so expensive, so few people bought it. Subscriptions makes that price more affordable and will in turn reduce piracy and add more cloud services.

How few of your see this, is amusing.

I agree with most of your comment.

The thing is, I know companies benefit more for subscriptions, what do I get out of it?

Btw the last Office I bought was 2007 for 30 or something euros on a use at home deal between MS and my employer. I got it because of a why not reasoning. Today I don't have any Office app on my stuff even if I use it every single day, particurlarly Excel. If I need something at home I will use Google whatever it is called nowadays.

 

[jaw04005]

All I know is the current Office for Mac is slow and bloated and I get logged out of 365 all the time. I try to use iWork as much as possible.

 

[sracer]

Child, you should see how poorly Microsoft Word for Mac stacks up against Windows. I migrated from Windows to Mac for the power of M1 and Apple ecosystem unity but hot damn, there are some really intuitive quality of life controls missing from Word for Mac. You can make headers and navigate through them on Mac, but unlike Windows, you can't click and drag to rearrange them, which means you must copy and paste an entire section.

I hope this rebrand gives us Mac users everything they've been withholding, though I sense they've been doing it to incentivise us to go Windows.

Good point regarding the differences between the Windows and Mac versions of Office.

I really dislike the fact that Office for Mac has two separate menu bars and menu systems. Some menu items have the same name but slightly different options.

 

[stevet]

Just sick and tired of companies renaming and rebooting stuff. Just make good quality products and stop trying to play games with customers. And more importantly I'm tired of subscriptions, tired of everything being a cloud based web app that runs janky on a web browser. Like we have 4, 6, 8 core computers with tons of ram, but we got to run our apps in a web browser, absurd. Can I just pay for a piece of software that runs on my computer like the old days?

Normally, Id be a fan of just running older versions till perpetuity, but alas Apple (and other companies) needs to push out a new release of an OS every year ruins that. Because we all need major OS releases every.single.year. We need compatibility breaking OS releases every single year and a company that's supposedly makes "Professional" devices can't even be bothered with publishing clear guidelines for when they'd be dropping security updates for old OS releases.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the tech/software industry as a whole.

You don't need to upgrade. In fact you don't need to use the software or any tech items that you are 'sick and tired of'. simple solution right?

 

[belvdr]

I agree with most of your comment.

The thing is, I know companies benefit more for subscriptions, what do I get out of it?

Btw the last Office I bought was 2007 for 30 or something euros on a use at home deal between MS and my employer. I got it because of a why not reasoning. Today I don't have any Office app on my stuff even if I use it every single day, particurlarly Excel. If I need something at home I will use Google whatever it is called nowadays.

It's consistent expense, not a rollercoaster of purchasing upgrades every few years or similar. For some, that's worth it.

 

[EdT]

Can someone draw a diagram showing the product names to the functions available in that software? I like seeing the same name or very similar names with multiple levels of features and lines criss-crossing into a wonderful ball of confusion that no one can confidently explain.

 

[bluecoast]

1) The name change makes a lot of sense as what was originally a product aimed at businesses (the clue was in the name 'Office' of course!).

It's now aimed at, well pretty much everyone - personal, families, education, government and yes, businesses.

So it makes sense for the name to be well, less 'businessy'.

2) Also, I'm sure that Microsoft is mindful, that post pandemic, productivity doesn't have to happen in the office.

3) As for the debate we're having here about subscriptions:

I agree with the few that are saying here that you're paying not just for the binaries on your device but also for the entire cloud stack and that's an ongoing cost to the MS, hence a subscription is a fair exchange.

4) I'm sure that MS will keep on offering Office as a one time purchase, but I wouldn't be surprised if they announce that the current one time purchase of Office will only be able to get long time servicing / security fixes (for businesses only) after it's existing product support window is over with no new 'Office 2024' or whatever.

And to be fair, the current version of Office now has pretty much all you'd need if you're using the Office apps in a 'pre-cloud/collaboration' way.

Especially since most of the new Office - sorry MS365! - features tend to be around cloud based collaboration.