At its Inspire event last month, Microsoft announced the upcoming introduction of new subscriptions for Office 365. Today, the company has announced the two new bundles oriented towards business users.
Called Microsoft 365 Business and Microsoft 365 Enterprise, the two bundles come with related connected services and a license for Windows 10 Business. The subscriptions are created to help organizations streamline their licensing under one plan.
Microsoft says with a single subscription, companies are prepared in terms of software. Microsoft 365 “brings together Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security to deliver a complete, intelligent and secure solution to empowers employees.”
With Microsoft 365 Business, smaller and medium companies with less than 300 users can get Office 365 and Windows 10. The bundle is available in preview and customers need to provide their name, email, and company name.
Only select companies are eligible at the moment as the bundle moves through preview. Users will get installs on five devices per subscription.
The Microsoft 365 Business package includes:
Office
Email (50GB) and Calendaring
Online meetings, instant messaging, audio, and HD chat/conferencing
Microsoft Teams
Outlook Customer Manager, Bookings, MileIQ
1TB of OneDrive for Business Cloud Storage
Data Protection Controls
Cyberthreat Protection with Windows Defender
Administration and Deployment Management
99.9% uptime and 24/7 online and phone support
Cost
The bundle costs $20 per user every month. For comparison, Office 365 Business Premium costs $12.50 per month. Of course, the regular Office package does not come with many of the features listed above.
Previews are open to current Office 365 subscribers free of charge. Microsoft says 365 Business will be made publicly available before the end of the year.
