Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based suite of office applications, and services.
In the free version, it includes the latest online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook while the paid versions often include access to the full applications as well as extra services depending on the license that is purchased.
When we talk about cloud-based applications, we simply mean things that are accessible from the internet. When you log into a Microsoft Office 365 account online you have access to emails through the online version of Outlook and files from OneDrive for example.
Office 365 is considered the industry standard range of applications that are used from educational establishments right through to businesses and include applications that allow you to present (PowerPoint), do word processing (Word) and create spreadsheets (Excel).
Being able to use these applications effectively is extremely advantageous as most businesses will use these or similar applications as part of their everyday business.
Features of Office 365
Office 365 can have different features depending on what license you purchase. For this reason we will mainly state the features of the free version of Office 365.
Access to web applications
With the free version (and paid subscriptions) you get access to the following online applications:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft OneNote
- Microsoft To Do
The applications that are available to users on a free plan sometimes change so please keep this in mind.
Collaboration tools
Office 365 makes it easy to collaborate with others on projects and work. It allows the sharing of files and documents easily and also allows you to set permissions on files if you only wanted a certain personal to look at but not edit a file for example.
Collaboration can also be done using Outlook to send emails and messages to your team members and plan meetings using the built in Calendar.
Industry standard office apps
By using Microsoft Office applications you can be certain that if you take your files to another business or share them with someone else that they should be able to access them. That’s because businesses, people and other applications work well with the documents that Office use.
By learning to use Microsoft Office you are also upskilling yourself to enter the world of work as it is common for most offices to work in or use Microsoft Office 365.
Access from anywhere with an internet connection
Need your files when visiting a client and forgot to bring a memory stick? No matter, as you can store your files and folders online and access them anywhere there is internet.
You can also use the online applications to make changes to documents from anywhere there is internet.