What Apple users should expect when using Microsoft 365 subscriptions

Illustration: Lisa Hornung/TechRepublic

Microsoft offers a assortment of Microsoft 365 subscription plans that see a wide scope of bundle applications and services. For starters, determination are location plans and concern plans. The 2 location plans are Microsoft 365 Family, which costs $99.99 annually, supports up to six radical and includes up to 6TB of unreality storage, whereas the Microsoft 365 Personal program astatine $69.99 is designed for a azygous idiosyncratic and provides conscionable 1TB of unreality storage.

SEE: 83 Excel tips each idiosyncratic should master (TechRepublic)

The concern plans are, necessarily, much complex. The astir basal plan, the Microsoft 365 Business Basic, is priced astatine $5 per idiosyncratic per period and includes web and mobile (iPad and iPhone) versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, arsenic good arsenic Teams, Exchange email, OneDrive and SharePoint.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard, astatine $12.95 per idiosyncratic per month, includes those aforesaid features but adds entree to Mac desktop versions of the applications arsenic well. In addition, the Business Standard program adds Publisher (but lone for Windows PC users) and Access (but again, lone for Windows users).

The Microsoft 365 Business Premium program astatine $20 per idiosyncratic per period adds Intune and Azure Information Protection services, precocious menace extortion for email attachments and links, arsenic good arsenic zero-day threats and ransomware via Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Other features of the program see the quality to remotely hitch institution information from mislaid oregon stolen devices utilizing Intune, arsenic good arsenic the quality to restrict copying oregon redeeming of institution accusation utilizing unauthorized applications and controlling who tin entree circumstantial enactment accusation utilizing Microsoft's Information Rights Management.

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The Premium program targets firms peculiarly focused connected Windows security. Other information features included with the subscription are argumentation enforcement capabilities providing pre-breach extortion from threats connected Windows 10 machines utilizing Windows Defender Exploit Guard, arsenic good arsenic malware extortion connected Windows machines via Windows Defender. Last, unlimited Exchange Online Archiving is included, too, astatine this level, arsenic is PC and mobile instrumentality management, including for iPads and iPhones. And, portion automated desktop deployment features are included and provided via PC absorption components, the diagnostic applies lone to Windows PCs. However, mobile instrumentality management enactment included with this program possesses the quality to configure information features, settings and profiles for mobile Apple devices.

There's besides an apps-focused plan. The Microsoft 365 Apps subscription, priced astatine $8.25 per idiosyncratic per month, provides web, mobile and desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Mac users, portion Windows users besides person Publisher and Access. OneDrive retention is besides included, but email and calendaring features are not.

Overall, Apple users person entree to astir Microsoft 365 applications, with a sampling of disposable apps arsenic viewed wrong a Microsoft Family relationship in Figure A.

Figure A

Microsoft 365 provides entree to a assortment of applications, arsenic shown successful this illustration from a Microsoft Family subscription.

Either via iPad and iPhone apps, section Mac versions oregon web-based support, present are however Microsoft 365 apps interruption down crossed the assorted Apple merchandise lineup:

Microsoft supports the pursuing apps connected iOS and iPadOS:

• Azure
  
• Bookings
  
• Excel
  
• OneDrive
  
• OneNote
  
• Outlook
  
• Planner
  
• Power Apps
  
• Power Automate
  
• Power BI
  
• PowerPoint
  
• SharePoint
  
• Teams
  
• To Do
  
• Word
  
• Yammer
  

The mobile Microsoft Office package, a abstracted app "download," collects aggregate Microsoft 365 mobile apps wrong a azygous app selection:

• Office (Excel, PDFs, PowerPoint and Word)
  
• Outlook
  
• OneDrive
  
• OneNote
  

As for macOS, the pursuing applications tin beryllium installed locally connected desktops/laptops (using the due Microsoft 365 subscription):

• Excel
  
• Outlook
  
• PowerPoint
  
• OneDrive
  
• OneNote
  
• Teams
  
• Word
  

Another fashionable but not needfully Microsoft 365-dependent app is besides disposable locally utilizing macOS: Microsoft Remote Desktop. A multitude of Microsoft 365 exertion add-ins—such arsenic Grammarly for Microsoft Word, Zoom for Outlook and Lucidchart Diagrams for PowerPoint—are besides disposable from the Business Apps leafage erstwhile logged successful to a Microsoft 365 account.

All told, a broad, full-suite postulation of cloud-based Microsoft 365 tools are disposable for macOS members, including:

• Excel
  
• Lists
  
• My Analytics
  
• OneDrive
  
• OneNote
• Outlook
• People
  
• Planner
  
• Power Apps
  
• Power Automate
  
• Power BI
  
• PowerPoint
  
• Project
  
• SharePoint
  
• Stream
  
• Sway
  
• Teams
  
• To Do
  
• Whiteboard
  
• Word
  
• Yammer
  

While immoderate Microsoft app versions cannot beryllium locally installed connected a Mac (or iPad oregon iPhone), the functionality disposable to Apple users shouldn't airs immoderate trouble. In fact, I've noticed galore users' inclination to usage the cloud-based versions of galore of these apps—particularly Power Apps, Power BI, Planner and SharePoint—regardless, truthful adjacent if section instal options were available, they mightiness not beryllium used. As agelong arsenic an Internet transportation is available, the cloud-based versions enactment quickly, supply wide-ranging collaboration capabilities and forestall mislaid information owed to a lost, stolen oregon failed laptop oregon desktop. Better yet, the streamlined Microsoft 365 interface, arsenic shown in Figure B, and the almost-full unreality functionality of fashionable tools specified arsenic Excel, arsenic shown in Figure C, destruct headaches and marque getting to enactment that overmuch easier.

Figure B

Microsoft 365's elemental interface makes navigating betwixt applications and files speedy and easy.

Figure C

Cloud-based versions of Microsoft 365 connection wide entree to and near-full functionality for astir each Microsoft exertion Apple users volition require.

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