Office 365 is rebranding: Here’s what you need to know

On April 21st, Microsoft renamed a few Office 365 subscriptions and moved some of the packages to sit underneath the Microsoft 365 brand. They also introduced a new brand name for 365 Business and 365 Pro Plus; the new name will be Microsoft 365 Apps.  

Microsoft 365 is a bundle package that includes Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility and Security. Microsoft is now adding some existing features to some Office 365 packages such as their Windows and PC/Device management tools in order to make these packages more aligned to the Microsoft 365 offering, rather than Office 365 alone. 

Office 365 Business and Office 365 Pro Plus is now called Microsoft 365 Apps, with Microsoft using “for business” and “for enterprise” as labels to distinguish the two where necessary. 

Essentially, Office 365 subscriptions for small and medium-sized businesses—and Office 365 Pro Plus and Office 365 Business are now incorporated into the Microsoft 365 brand. 

The price is not expected to change, and those already subscribed won’t see a huge amount of difference yet – other than the name. However, Microsoft does plan to introduce new features to existing subscriptions over the coming months. 

Here are the packages that are changing: 

• Office 365 Business Essentials will be rebranded as Microsoft 365 Business Basic 
• Office 365 Business Premium will be rebranded Microsoft 365 Business Standard 
• Office 365 Business and Office 365 Pro Plus will be called Microsoft 365 Apps 

Plans which are not affected, and so will keep their existing names are: 

Office 365 for Enterprise

• Office 365 E1
• Office 365 E3
• Office 365 E5

Office 365 for Firstline

• Office 365 F1  

Office 365 for Education

• Office 365 A1
• Office 365 A3
• Office 365 A5

Office 365 for Government

• Office 365 G1
• Office 365 G3
• Office 365 G5 

It’s Microsoft’s hope that the new naming conventions will make it easier for consumers to find the plan they need more quickly – and that it will be easier to distinguish between packages for business, consumers, and enterprises.

Ultimately, hey also hope the change will highlight the additional features such as Teams and Planner, to challenge the existing belief that their packages only offer Word, Excel and PowerPoint. 

“These name changes represent our ambition to continue to drive innovation in Microsoft 365 that goes well beyond what customers traditionally think of as Office. The Office you know and love will still be there, but we’re excited about the new apps and services we’ve added to our subscriptions over the last few years and about the new innovations we’ll be adding in the coming months.”

A representative from Microsoft

If you are interested in finding out more about Microsoft 365 solutions, please feel free to contact us.