Office Online is Microsoft’s version of its productivity suite that is available through browsers. Today, the company has announced it is rebranding Office Online to simply Office. Microsoft says the reason for the name change is to simplify Office branding across services.
Furthering the rebranding effort, the company has also taking the online name off individual apps. So, applications such as Word Online, PowerPoint Online, and Excel Online no longer have the Online tag attached to them.
“Because our offerings have evolved to provide access to apps on more than one platform, it no longer makes sense to use any platform-specific sub-brands,” says Bill Doll, Office product marketing focusing on Office Online and the Office app.
Now known just as Office, it may become harder for users to differentiate between different versions of the suite. Certainly, here at WinBuzzer we are likely to continue to call the browser suite Office Online or “Office for web” for clarity.
Microsoft agrees with this distinction, although is eager to point out these are not official terms.
“However, “…for the web” is not a new brand or strict naming convention so you may also see us also use terminology such as “…on the web,” “…on Office.com,” and “…in a browser.” We encourage people to use whichever terminology is most appropriate and provides the most clarity for a given context,” Doll explains.
Online Name Lives One
Microsoft is not dropping the Online tag entirely. Indeed, this is only for Office applications, and Online will continue to be used for other solutions. For example, Office Online Server and SharePoint Online will remains as they are.
If you head to Office On… (ahem, Office) then you may still see that it retains the Online tag. Microsoft says the renaming is not happening instantly but should be completed soon. For marketing and technical purposes, the Online tag has been removed. Consumer fronted situations will follow soon.
