The subscription model allows Microsoft to offer constant updates and support for its productivity software, along the with the cloud storage and deep collaborative features made famous by Google’s browser-based productivity tools (Google Docs, Drive, Sheets, etc). Microsoft launched its 365 service in 2011 to help modernize the Office suite, which hadn’t experienced a major overhaul in nearly a decade. Unlike an Office bundle, which requires a one-time payment of $150 and only works on one computer, Microsoft 365 costs $7 a month, works on all of your computers and mobile devices, and includes collaborative features and perks that don’t come with a standard Office bundle. Today, many people access Excel, Word, and other software through a Microsoft 365 subscription or the free, browser-based Office Online suite (which is a stripped-down version of Office). Rinse and repeat.īut the traditional Office bundle is a lot less common than it used to be.
A few years go by, and your job or classroom requires a newer version of the Office suite, so you go out and blow your savings on another disc. You buy a disc full of Word, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft-branded software, stick it in your computer, and get to work. Everyone’s familiar with the old Microsoft Office ritual.
