Microsoft is making broad changes to 365 to make room for the first consumer 365 product line called "Microsoft 365 Personal and Family" launched on April 21st, 2020.  Their goal is to provide consistent branding across Home, Business, and Enterprise customers.  However, they only got most of the way there, so its important to know what has changed and what has stayed the same.  

Before we get to the specific changes, it’s important to know a few key differences in the Microsoft nomenclature.  By now you may have heard of Office 365 and also Microsoft 365.  Until now the key difference is that Microsoft 365 included Windows 10 in the subscription.  So if you purchased a PC without an operating system, Microsoft 365 always includes the latest operating system license.  Or if your PC came with Windows 7 or Windows 10 Home, Microsoft 365 allowed you to upgrade to the latest version of Windows.  This model basically replaced the old Software Assurance model of buying a license and having the rights to upgrade.

Aside from the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 basic differences, there are also two 365 product lines designed for different sized businesses.

• O365 Business such as Business Essentials and Business Premium
• Office 365 Enterprise such as E3 and E5

The key difference is Office 365 business is designed for companies of 300 or less users.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the differences in these product lines, we can talk about what specifically has changed.  

Microsoft has changed the name of some of their products from Office 365 to Microsoft 365.  The changes are not across-the-board, and are made specifically to the Business products.

• Office 365 Business Essentials  has become Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
• Office 365 Business Premium  has become Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
• Microsoft 365 Business has become Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

It's important to note that if you are already an Office 365 Business customer, you don't have to do anything, your licenses will automatically shift into the corresponding new product name.

Microsoft plans to continue to use the Office 365 name for users of Office 365 for Enterprise:

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

To help customers understand more about the 365 product line, they recently launched a new "What is Microsoft 365" website.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to us directly at support@opkalla.com.