Goodbye Office 365! Hello Microsoft 365!

[harlan4096]

The writing was on the wall for quite some time; Microsoft finally made the announcement that it has launched the new subscription service Microsoft 365 and that it will migrate Office 365 Personal and Home users to the new plans automatically in the coming weeks.

The company calls it "the subscription service for your life to help you make the most of your time, connect, and protect the ones you love, and to develop and grow".

At its core, Microsoft 365 is still Office 365 but with lots of AI and cloud services added to the mix.

An evolution of Office 365, Microsoft 365 builds on the foundation of Office infusing new artificial intelligence (AI), rich content and templates, and cloud-powered experiences to empower you to become a better writer, presenter, designer, manager of your finances, and deepen your connection to the people in your life.

Microsoft 365 will feature a new Family Safety app that Microsoft plans to roll out as a preview in the coming months.

Microsoft highlights some of the new features of Microsoft 365 in a new blog post on the company's website. Here is a summary of that lengthy post:

* Microsoft Editor in Word and Outlook -- AI powered spelling and grammar checking, rewrite suggestions, similarity checker, style critiques and more.

* Presenter Coach in PowerPoint -- AI monitors your speech and provides you with information on certain issues, e.g. if you are talking too fast or saying "umm" too
many times.

* PowerPoint Designer -- new features and options, e.g. auto-creation of multiple slides when adding a photo to pick one, access to some Getty Images and videos, new icons and fonts, and more.

* Money in Excel -- Connect bank and credit card accounts to Money in Excel or import transactions and balances manually (powered by Plaid) to track spending habits, give personal insights and more.

* New data types in Excel -- Option to convert data into one of the more than 100 new data types, e.g. food or movies, to create visual and interactive data cards and images.

* Outlook -- new options to link personal calendars to the work calendar to show "real availability" in the work account "while still maintaining privacy around the details of personal appointments and business meetings".

* Access to Skype and new Microsoft Teams features.

* Microsoft Family Safety -- New app for Android and iOS to manage family members better. Features include location sharing and notifications, overseeing kids activity on devices. and more.

* Partner benefits program (U.S. only) -- Free trials or free services for a "limited period".

The new Microsoft 365 is rolling out to Office 365 customers and will become available for new customers worldwide on April 21, 2020. The price remains the same

Small and medium-sized businesses may want to check out the new Microsoft 365 offerings for small and medium-sized businesses.

Now You: Are you an Office 365 subscriber? If not, which Office program do you use?
...

Continue Reading