Since 365 is doing so well ,I always wondered why people never complained about the office 365 price plans. In 2.2 years time you pay for a none subscription version but without outlook/access/publisher/cloud storage. So the later ones are really popular?
It makes sense to go subscription model by Microsoft but i think most people are paying double per year if not more than what they used to pay . When you spread out their office purchases over the years that is.
While OneDrive is not the best cloud drive, Office 365 subs is a great deal for me for three reasons, firstly with 1TB I can back up all my photos and videos (a lesson learnt after my brother lost all his), I can save directly to my onedrive from my work computer and I can access files from any of the 8 PCs/Macs/tablets/smartphones I have!
well consider that people already pay for cloud storage from box or similar websites, if you also need office you get both in the same package with the subscription model, that's worth it to many people.
I use the free version of OneDrive and microsoft services in general (although I have a windows phone so I think I got some space free, I have like 25GB free right now which I will never use up really), I do some backup of important documents in a box-like fashion, but it also automatically backs up my phone, photos on it, document scans done with the phone are available instantly and can be sent in e-mails from the PC etc. Plus it's all accessed from one website (I have outlook e-mail).
Maybe this makes me a victim of a closed ecosystem but you really get used to the comfort of it.
Mine shows 1.02TB available at the moment, and I barely have anything on it, and I do have an active Office 365 sub. So, that unlimited or 10TB limit doesn't sound like it is widespread.
He did say "Seems like when you add more to it, it just gets increased", so as you "barely have anything on it", that might explain why your is still 1TB :)
You can use the same version of Office for a decade, maybe even more, so you're definitely paying a lot more for the subscription version. The truth is not that much worthwhile changes from year to year with spreadsheets and word processors. Maybe a few gimmicks are added, but most of them are not must haves for basic productivity.
Outdated? Windows 7, introduced in 2009, with extended support lasting until January 14, 2020. OK, so it doesn't have DirectX 12, but then again it does Media Center live TV recording, which 10 will never.
O356 you get an email service, SharePoint, onenote sharing, updates and new features. It might not make sense for you dicking around alone but for a business its unbeatable.
The only compatibility hell you are suggesting is if you are using some old version of Office like '97 or '03, which is more than 10 years. Frankly, how many people still use those versions?
If you were using 2003 word when 2007 was out, you were already cut out because of compatibility issues. E.g. the redesigned equation editor with latex-like commands and WYSWYG combined is fantastic to use and obviously not retro-compatible (you can get the stuff converted). Also the ribbon interface after a few weeks of getting used to it was a huge productivity increase. 2007 also made it easier to have styles and stuff. The progress in document quality was pretty important imho. Maybe I'm saying a heresy but LaTeX has become less critical.
I could agree to your comment, you ran an old version on a machine not online. There are many holes that M$ isn't plugging in old versions and will not plug since the product is EOF already.
I believe Office 365 can be activated on 5 devices, but a standalone copy can only be used on one device. When sharing the subscription with friends/family, 365 doesn't end up being that expensive, and you can upgraded to whatever latest version for free.
yeah share if you want to give them access to your onedrive cloud storage..... and even worse if you use other microsoft services like xbox live or windows phone, hell even windows 10 app store
$100/year for 5 devices is not expensive, and you always have the latest version. Adobe CC is about 20x as expensive per device. So Adobe gets more complaints than Microsoft about subscription pricing.
If you're looking at a single license personal use for home, then yes - purchasing outright and keeping the same version over the long term makes sense.
But with O365 you're getting much more for businesses and honestly, that's their target market. You get the entire Office Suite, an entire exchange/email infrastructure, IM/sharing through Skype for Business, Syncing with OneDrive, and Sharepoint (for better or worse).
You can probably list pros and cons with going exclusively MS, but in the business world, everything has costs. Your employees cannot spend time converting/exchange documents with others if they're not cross compatible. Sure, you can use another file sharing service, but their monthly subscription is already 50% of the monthly cost for O365. Want in-house email? Do you have the funds to install and manage the infrastructure with adequate security, and then the expertise to manage it all? Management and Maintenance costs are not cheap...
Honestly, the one counter argument could be that you can't or aren't comfortable with cloud storage/services, but even those arguments are changing. Online Office from your tablet, without having to worry about VPNing to a file server is pretty cool...
Larger enterprises with the infrastructure in place might maintain their old system, but this is a very cost effective solution for SMBs. That said, even the big corporations are migrating.
1. the Office 365 subscription allows for five installs. So, it would actually take 11 years to pay off enough subscriptions to cover this. (I have mine on 2 desktop computers and 2 laptop computers, with 1 still to be used) Also, 365 gets automatic upgrades to the latest versions. In 11 years, there would likely be two version upgrades, which would extend the time it would take to pay for it another 4 years, and then there'd be one more version upgrade, extending it another 2 years, and then there'd be another upgrade to extend it another 2 years on top of those. So, in actuality, it would take about 17 years to really be more effective to buy them outright. Also, the full versions are tied to the system permanently, unless you get the enterprise volume licensing, so you'd have to stick with the same systems for 17 years.
2. There's also the extra 1TB of storage on OneDrive. Free data integrity? I don't have to back up? Oh, yeah, that's worth it to me.
3. There's also, beyond the ability of the local installs, of using the web version of the apps anywhere, no matter the device, or even if you own it.
So, yeah, the subscription is well worth the $90/year I pay for it. (Oh, did I not mention that it can be had for a discount if you get the subscription card from Amazon? Oh, surprise on me, I just looked it up, and it is now down to $84/year: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Home-Year-C... )
As a business owner, I couldn't care less. The convenience Office 365 provides is worth it. It's what, $10 a month? Eat out one less time per month, and you've already paid for it.
I have always wondered this: Why do some companies use a fiscal calendar that doesn't line up with the real calendar? Like MS fiscal calendar is several months ahead of real-time here. Whats the end goal here?
If that was true, surely you should borrow billions, buy up all the stupid companies with calender year ends, move their year end, savings billions in tax and then sell the companies on for billions more. step aside Buffet, here comes Flunk!
We use OneDrive for Business at work on Win7 and the sync client is a complete joke of a product. Completely inferior in every way to basically every other similar service. I cannot imagine *personally* paying for that crap. Our IT says "Microsoft promises a new release in X months that fixes some of these issue." LOL!
Yep, I'll get an email that a document has been saved and I get the privilege of waiting up to a half hour before it shows up on the server. Thanks M$ Cloud.
I had both OneDrive and OneDrive for business on my work computer, and I switched over to the consumer one because of the problems with the business client. Consumer OneDrive was much closer to dropbox/googledrive. The only thing I missed from dropbox was context menu sharing. In Windows 10, that has been added so I'm happy with the consumer OneDrive now.
I know not everyone can run the software they want on work machines though... so Microsoft really needs to close the gaps in those products.
I too use both OneDrive consumer (at home) and OneDrive for Business (at work). The consumer version I've never had a problem with and it "just works" - something to the tune of 3TB backed up and synced on my personal OneDrive.
OneDrive for Business though has been a terrible failure for our small business, mostly due to the fact its platform is based on the old SharePoint Online from 2008. #1: the 20,000 library sync limit is asinine and unusable in a business setting where you don't usually have a small number of big files, but rather many numerous small-sized files; #2: the work around to this, of having to create separate SharePoint Team Sites, doesn't really work because those impose their own 5,000 file sync limit; #3: the desktop sync client is abysmal and often times drops out of sync, can take a long time uploading small files (think days), fails to repair itself properly after an issue, and has extremely SLOW responsiveness.
The good news though! Microsoft has listened to our business' bitching, along with numerous others (especially on why the consumer OneDrive is so good, but the Business version is so poor! So, so, so very stupid - you make much more on enterprise solutions!) and they're new sync client and platform is scheduled to rollout by the end of the year. It's already in beta testing.
I've been following these extremely important and needed updates since their announcement at the MS Ignite conference in May and it looks like we're finally getting close. These changes should make OneDrive for Business now a productivity tool instead of a weekly aggravation!
Yeah I bought office 365 for home mostly for the one one-drive storage. Pictures/files etc. OneDrive is kinda slow and flaky sometimes... I personally found dropbox works better, but the price is pretty good and it includes office for 5 computers (wife and 3 kids). It's pretty good.
At work we use and sell office 365, but again I'm pretty happy with it. It could be better, but I think it completely outclasses what you'd get from google or anyone else.
Azure is pretty feature rich... and pricey ... and kinda slow. They have some new VM types that are faster, but yeah. There's lots of cheaper options, so for personal use I wouldn't recommend azure, but corporate use is entirely different. You just really can't compare the azure management interface and features to anybody else except amazon and they have similar pricing.
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plopke - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Since 365 is doing so well ,I always wondered why people never complained about the office 365 price plans. In 2.2 years time you pay for a none subscription version but without outlook/access/publisher/cloud storage. So the later ones are really popular?It makes sense to go subscription model by Microsoft but i think most people are paying double per year if not more than what they used to pay . When you spread out their office purchases over the years that is.
Luc K - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Remember it does include 1 TB OneDrive storage. That alone is worth it to many people.plopke - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Fair enough :). I have not really myself made the jump to OneDrive storage but it looks nice to have sometimes.Speedfriend - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
While OneDrive is not the best cloud drive, Office 365 subs is a great deal for me for three reasons, firstly with 1TB I can back up all my photos and videos (a lesson learnt after my brother lost all his), I can save directly to my onedrive from my work computer and I can access files from any of the 8 PCs/Macs/tablets/smartphones I have!Murloc - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
well consider that people already pay for cloud storage from box or similar websites, if you also need office you get both in the same package with the subscription model, that's worth it to many people.I use the free version of OneDrive and microsoft services in general (although I have a windows phone so I think I got some space free, I have like 25GB free right now which I will never use up really), I do some backup of important documents in a box-like fashion, but it also automatically backs up my phone, photos on it, document scans done with the phone are available instantly and can be sent in e-mails from the PC etc.
Plus it's all accessed from one website (I have outlook e-mail).
Maybe this makes me a victim of a closed ecosystem but you really get used to the comfort of it.
Brett Howse - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
It's actually unlimited storage with Office 365, although that hasn't completely rolled out yet. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8648/onedrive-will-o...My OneDrive shows 10 TB at the moment. Seems like when you add more to it, it just gets increased.
dgingeri - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Mine shows 1.02TB available at the moment, and I barely have anything on it, and I do have an active Office 365 sub. So, that unlimited or 10TB limit doesn't sound like it is widespread.PrinceGaz - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
He did say "Seems like when you add more to it, it just gets increased", so as you "barely have anything on it", that might explain why your is still 1TB :)Nagorak - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
You can use the same version of Office for a decade, maybe even more, so you're definitely paying a lot more for the subscription version. The truth is not that much worthwhile changes from year to year with spreadsheets and word processors. Maybe a few gimmicks are added, but most of them are not must haves for basic productivity.IanHagen - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Except the compatibility hell when you're using an outdated version compared to well... the world.Gadgety - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Outdated? Windows 7, introduced in 2009, with extended support lasting until January 14, 2020. OK, so it doesn't have DirectX 12, but then again it does Media Center live TV recording, which 10 will never.IanHagen - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
When talking about Office how Windows 7's support deadline, DirectX 12 and Media Center even apply?Gunbuster - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
O356 you get an email service, SharePoint, onenote sharing, updates and new features. It might not make sense for you dicking around alone but for a business its unbeatable.Cliff34 - Monday, November 9, 2015 - link
The only compatibility hell you are suggesting is if you are using some old version of Office like '97 or '03, which is more than 10 years. Frankly, how many people still use those versions?Murloc - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
10 years is too much really, more like 5 years.If you were using 2003 word when 2007 was out, you were already cut out because of compatibility issues.
E.g. the redesigned equation editor with latex-like commands and WYSWYG combined is fantastic to use and obviously not retro-compatible (you can get the stuff converted).
Also the ribbon interface after a few weeks of getting used to it was a huge productivity increase.
2007 also made it easier to have styles and stuff.
The progress in document quality was pretty important imho.
Maybe I'm saying a heresy but LaTeX has become less critical.
Murloc - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
*you can get the stuff converted to images thanks to an update for .doc support but they're non-editablejtgmerk - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
I could agree to your comment, you ran an old version on a machine not online. There are many holes that M$ isn't plugging in old versions and will not plug since the product is EOF already.wujj123456 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I believe Office 365 can be activated on 5 devices, but a standalone copy can only be used on one device. When sharing the subscription with friends/family, 365 doesn't end up being that expensive, and you can upgraded to whatever latest version for free.Morawka - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
yeah share if you want to give them access to your onedrive cloud storage..... and even worse if you use other microsoft services like xbox live or windows phone, hell even windows 10 app storeCSMR - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
$100/year for 5 devices is not expensive, and you always have the latest version.Adobe CC is about 20x as expensive per device.
So Adobe gets more complaints than Microsoft about subscription pricing.
blueknigh7 - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
If you're looking at a single license personal use for home, then yes - purchasing outright and keeping the same version over the long term makes sense.But with O365 you're getting much more for businesses and honestly, that's their target market. You get the entire Office Suite, an entire exchange/email infrastructure, IM/sharing through Skype for Business, Syncing with OneDrive, and Sharepoint (for better or worse).
You can probably list pros and cons with going exclusively MS, but in the business world, everything has costs. Your employees cannot spend time converting/exchange documents with others if they're not cross compatible. Sure, you can use another file sharing service, but their monthly subscription is already 50% of the monthly cost for O365. Want in-house email? Do you have the funds to install and manage the infrastructure with adequate security, and then the expertise to manage it all? Management and Maintenance costs are not cheap...
Honestly, the one counter argument could be that you can't or aren't comfortable with cloud storage/services, but even those arguments are changing. Online Office from your tablet, without having to worry about VPNing to a file server is pretty cool...
Larger enterprises with the infrastructure in place might maintain their old system, but this is a very cost effective solution for SMBs. That said, even the big corporations are migrating.
dgingeri - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
1. the Office 365 subscription allows for five installs. So, it would actually take 11 years to pay off enough subscriptions to cover this. (I have mine on 2 desktop computers and 2 laptop computers, with 1 still to be used) Also, 365 gets automatic upgrades to the latest versions. In 11 years, there would likely be two version upgrades, which would extend the time it would take to pay for it another 4 years, and then there'd be one more version upgrade, extending it another 2 years, and then there'd be another upgrade to extend it another 2 years on top of those. So, in actuality, it would take about 17 years to really be more effective to buy them outright. Also, the full versions are tied to the system permanently, unless you get the enterprise volume licensing, so you'd have to stick with the same systems for 17 years.2. There's also the extra 1TB of storage on OneDrive. Free data integrity? I don't have to back up? Oh, yeah, that's worth it to me.
3. There's also, beyond the ability of the local installs, of using the web version of the apps anywhere, no matter the device, or even if you own it.
So, yeah, the subscription is well worth the $90/year I pay for it. (Oh, did I not mention that it can be had for a discount if you get the subscription card from Amazon? Oh, surprise on me, I just looked it up, and it is now down to $84/year: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Home-Year-C... )
Morawka - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
to be fair, it says for one pc, but you can install on as many as you like.. its not activation locked down like windows.taisserroots - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
Open OfficeMichael Bay - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
...is not even funny anymore.III-V - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
As a business owner, I couldn't care less. The convenience Office 365 provides is worth it. It's what, $10 a month? Eat out one less time per month, and you've already paid for it.extide - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I have always wondered this: Why do some companies use a fiscal calendar that doesn't line up with the real calendar? Like MS fiscal calendar is several months ahead of real-time here. Whats the end goal here?Flunk - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
To pay the least possible tax.Speedfriend - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
If that was true, surely you should borrow billions, buy up all the stupid companies with calender year ends, move their year end, savings billions in tax and then sell the companies on for billions more. step aside Buffet, here comes Flunk!melgross - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
It has to do when the company was incorporated.kspirit - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
How does tax factor into this?RBFL - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Probably so the accounts department don't have a lousy December/Christmas.The UK Tax year, for example, is April-April.
steven75 - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
We use OneDrive for Business at work on Win7 and the sync client is a complete joke of a product. Completely inferior in every way to basically every other similar service. I cannot imagine *personally* paying for that crap. Our IT says "Microsoft promises a new release in X months that fixes some of these issue." LOL!superflex - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Yep,I'll get an email that a document has been saved and I get the privilege of waiting up to a half hour before it shows up on the server.
Thanks M$ Cloud.
jamyryals - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
I had both OneDrive and OneDrive for business on my work computer, and I switched over to the consumer one because of the problems with the business client. Consumer OneDrive was much closer to dropbox/googledrive. The only thing I missed from dropbox was context menu sharing. In Windows 10, that has been added so I'm happy with the consumer OneDrive now.I know not everyone can run the software they want on work machines though... so Microsoft really needs to close the gaps in those products.
SpartyOn - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
I too use both OneDrive consumer (at home) and OneDrive for Business (at work). The consumer version I've never had a problem with and it "just works" - something to the tune of 3TB backed up and synced on my personal OneDrive.OneDrive for Business though has been a terrible failure for our small business, mostly due to the fact its platform is based on the old SharePoint Online from 2008. #1: the 20,000 library sync limit is asinine and unusable in a business setting where you don't usually have a small number of big files, but rather many numerous small-sized files; #2: the work around to this, of having to create separate SharePoint Team Sites, doesn't really work because those impose their own 5,000 file sync limit; #3: the desktop sync client is abysmal and often times drops out of sync, can take a long time uploading small files (think days), fails to repair itself properly after an issue, and has extremely SLOW responsiveness.
The good news though! Microsoft has listened to our business' bitching, along with numerous others (especially on why the consumer OneDrive is so good, but the Business version is so poor! So, so, so very stupid - you make much more on enterprise solutions!) and they're new sync client and platform is scheduled to rollout by the end of the year. It's already in beta testing.
I've been following these extremely important and needed updates since their announcement at the MS Ignite conference in May and it looks like we're finally getting close. These changes should make OneDrive for Business now a productivity tool instead of a weekly aggravation!
More info: https://blog.onedrive.com/meet-the-new-onedrive-fo...
andrewaggb - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Yeah I bought office 365 for home mostly for the one one-drive storage. Pictures/files etc. OneDrive is kinda slow and flaky sometimes... I personally found dropbox works better, but the price is pretty good and it includes office for 5 computers (wife and 3 kids). It's pretty good.At work we use and sell office 365, but again I'm pretty happy with it. It could be better, but I think it completely outclasses what you'd get from google or anyone else.
Azure is pretty feature rich... and pricey ... and kinda slow. They have some new VM types that are faster, but yeah. There's lots of cheaper options, so for personal use I wouldn't recommend azure, but corporate use is entirely different. You just really can't compare the azure management interface and features to anybody else except amazon and they have similar pricing.