Microsoft 365: Windows and Office subscription bundle

Microsoft 365 is a new subscription-based service by Microsoft that includes Windows,Office 365 and Windows Mobility in a single package.

Announced officially on July 10, 2017 by Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for the Office team on the official Office blog, Microsoft 365 is the next step in Microsoft's transformation to a company that moves from traditional software sales to subscription-based services.

The new service will be offered in two editions: Microsoft 365 Enterprise, and Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise integrates  Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Enterprise Mobility + Security.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise

Microsoft 365 Enterprise is built on the foundation of the highly successful Secure Productive Enterprise, which grew seats by triple digits in the last year. Going forward, Microsoft 365 Enterprise replaces Secure Productive Enterprise to double-down on the new customer promise of empowering employees to be creative and work together, securely.

Microsoft plans to launch two Microsoft 365 Enterprise editions, Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5. The company has yet to announce how these two editions differ from each offer.

Update: The official Microsoft 365 Enterprise site details the differences between Microsoft 365 E3 and E5:

		Microsoft 365 E3	Microsoft 365 E5
Office applications	Feature Word, Excel, PowerPoint	feature is included	feature is included
Email & calendar	Feature Outlook, Exchange	feature is included	feature is included
Chat-based workspace	Feature Teams	feature is included	feature is included
Voice, video & meetings	Feature Skype for Business	feature is included	feature is included
Voice, Video and Meetings	Feature PSTN Conferencing, Cloud PBX	PSTN Conferencing, Cloud PBX are not included	feature is included
Social & internet	Feature SharePoint, Yammer	feature is included	feature is included
Threat protection	Feature Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, Windows Defender Antivirus, Device Guard	feature is included	feature is included
Threat protection	Feature Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Threat Intelligence	Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Threat Intelligence are not included	feature is included
Identity & access management	Feature Azure Active Directory P1, Windows Hello and Credential Guard	feature is included	feature is included
Identity and Access Management	Feature Azure Active Directory P2	Azure Active Directory P2 is not included	feature is included
Device & app management	Feature Microsoft Intune	feature is included	feature is included
Information protection	Feature Office 365 Data Loss Prevention, Windows Information Protection and BitLocker, Azure Information Protection P1	feature is included	feature is included
Information Protection	Feature Azure Information Protection P2, Microsoft Cloud App Security, Office 365 Advanced Security Management	Azure Information Protection P2, Microsoft Cloud App Security, Office 365 Advanced Security Management are not included	feature is included
Advanced compliance	Feature Advanced eDiscovery, Customer Lockbox, Advanced Data Governance	Advanced eDiscovery, Customer lockbox, Advanced Data Governance are not included	feature is included
Analytics	Feature Delve	feature is included	feature is included
Analytics	Feature Power BI Pro, My Analytics	Power BI Pro, My Analytics are not included	feature is included

It is clear however that Microsoft uses the same system that it uses for Office 365 where Office 365 E3 and E5 are also available.

The core difference between those? According to this Office product comparison page " advanced security, analytics, and voice capabilities" in Office 365 Enterprise E5.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise is designed for "large organizations" according to Microsoft. General availability date is August 1, 2017.

Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Business was purpose-built for small and medium-sized customers that have little to no IT resources on staff, do not rely on an Active Directory domain controller, and need a solution that provides their employees with the best-in-class productivity and collaboration capabilities of Office 365 and device management and security solutions to safeguard business data and assets across devices.

Microsoft 365 Business  is designed for businesses with up to 300 users. It integrates Office 365 Premium with "tailored security and management features from Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security".

The Windows 10 version that is included in Microsoft 365 Business is not mentioned in the blog post on the Office blog. It is likely that Microsoft will integrate Windows 10 Professional and not Enterprise in the package, but we have to wait for confirmation before we know that for sure.

Update: The official product site lists Windows 10 Professional as the version that is included.

Microsoft did reveal pricing and availability for Microsoft 365 Business. Microsoft 365 will be available as a public preview on August 2, 2017, and available worldwide in the Fall of 2017. The price of the subscription-based package is $20 per user per month.

Additional details, for instance whether there is a minimum number of users for either package, are unclear at this point in time.

		Office 365 Business Premium $12.50 user/month	Microsoft 365 Business $20 user/month
Office applications	Feature Office on tablets and phones	feature is included	feature is included
	Feature Fully installed and web versions of Office apps	feature is included	feature is included
File & document viewing & editing	Feature 1 TB file storage and sharing	feature is included	feature is included
Collaboration services	Feature Business class email (50GB), calendar, and contacts	feature is included	feature is included
Collaboration services	Feature Online meetings (instant messaging, audio, and HD video chat/conferencing)	feature is included	feature is included
Collaboration services	Feature Microsoft Teams chat-based workspace	feature is included	feature is included
Business applications	Feature Outlook Customer Manager, Bookings	feature is included	feature is included
Device management	Feature Single console to manage user and device settings		feature is included
Device management	Feature Self-service PC deployment with Windows AutoPilot		feature is included
Device management	Feature Automatically deploy Office apps to Windows 10 PCs		feature is included
Security	Feature Protect company data across devices		feature is included
Security	Feature Secure access to documents on mobile devices		feature is included
Security	Feature Protect Windows 10 devices against malware, viruses, and spyware with Windows Defender		feature is included
Maximum number of users	Feature Up to 300	feature is included	feature is included

Microsoft announced in the same blog post that three new applications are coming for Office 365 Business Premium and Microsoft 365 Business. These are Microsoft Listings, an email marketing service, Microsoft Connections, an app to publish business information on "top sites", and Microsoft Invoicing, an app to create and deliver "professional invoices".

Closing Words

Microsoft has offered Windows 10 subscriptions before, but only for Enterprise customers. The subscription model is now available for businesses as well. It is an extra $7.50 for businesses who are subscribed to Office 365 Premium already, and it brings along with it several device management options next to Windows 10 Professional.

Now You: What's your take on Microsoft 365? Do you think Microsoft will offer subscriptions for home users in the future as well?

Resources

Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Enterprise