Last year, Microsoft announced the changes to their commercial pricing for Microsoft 365, the first substantive pricing update since they launched Office 365 a decade ago. Let’s take a look at some of the innovations they have delivered over the past decade in three key areas are:
Communications and collaboration
Security and compliance
AI and automation
as well as the addition of audio conferencing capabilities announced.
A decade of continuous innovation
Four years ago, they introduced Microsoft 365 to bring together the best of Office, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS). That same year they added Microsoft Teams as the only integrated solution where you can meet, chat, call, collaborate, and automate business processes.
Since introducing Microsoft 365 they have added 24 apps to the suites Microsoft Teams, Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, Stream, Planner, Visio, OneDrive, Yammer, and Whiteboard.
Communication and collaboration
Microsoft launched Teams in 2017 as the only integrated solution where you can meet, chat, call, collaborate, and automate business processes, with the power of the Office apps, all within the flow of work.
In 2020, Microsoft released over 300 new capabilities including Together mode, background effects, large gallery view, raise hand, live reactions, breakout rooms, live captions with speaker attribution and Fluid components and a lot more.
Microsoft also introduced a real-time collaboration in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint desktop apps while a growing set of capabilities like @mentions, assign tasks, modern comments, and auto-save have streamlined the collaboration experience. They added and expanded OneDrive cloud storage and the Exchange Online mailboxes.
Security and compliance
The cybersecurity landscape is more complex than ever. With the accelerating volume, sophistication, and scale of cyberattacks, security and compliance are a priority for every organization.
New attack surface reduction capabilities to help organizations defend against ransomware and other threats
Capabilities like data loss prevention (DLP) for email and documents, sensitivity labels, and message encryption to help keep important data within the organization.
Powerful compliance capabilities that help organizations reduce risk and respond to increasing regulatory requirements such as Content Search, eDiscovery, and core Litigation Hold.
Built-in mobile device management (MDM) and other management tools like Microsoft Endpoint Manager help admins support remote and hybrid workforces.
AI and automation
Over the past decade, they have infused AI capabilities across our productivity and collaboration applications to help everyone achieve more.
AI-powered innovations to help users be better writers, designers, and presenters.
Cloud-powered AI now automatically creates maps, charts, and tables in Excel, and sorts email and removes clutter in Outlook.
AI-powered real-time translation, captions, and transcription make collaboration and communication more accessible and engaging for everyone.
Extending audio conferencing capabilities
Microsoft also announced that they will add unlimited dial-in capabilities for Microsoft Teams meetings across our enterprise, business, frontline, and government suites over the next few months.
Currently included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5, Microsoft has come to see dial-in as an important part of the complete Teams experience.
It is available with subscriptions in over 70 countries and with interactive support in 44 languages and dialects, unlimited dial-in provides peace of mind that users will be able to join their Microsoft Teams meeting from virtually any device regardless of location.
New pricing
The pricing changes that were announced last year will go into effect on 1 March 2022.
Updated pricing for the following commercial products:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (from $5 to $6 per user)
Microsoft 365 Business Premium (from $20 to $22)
Office 365 E1 (from $8 to $10)
Office 365 E3 (from $20 to $23)
Office 365 E5 (from $35 to $38)
Microsoft 365 E3 (from $32 to $36)
These increases will apply globally with local market adjustments for certain regions and there are no changes to pricing for education and consumer products at this time.
Conclusion
With all expanded to add other apps, in whole or in part and entirely new capabilities. Microsoft committed to building on the value we’ve delivered over the past decade to continuously provide innovation that helps the customers succeed and thrive today and well into the future.
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