Sign in Subscribe

What is Microsoft 365, and what services does it include?

Last updated on 

Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of cloud-based productivity tools and services provided by Microsoft. It is designed to enhance collaboration, communication, and productivity for individuals, businesses, and organizations. Microsoft 365 integrates a variety of applications and services, offering a unified platform that allows users to work seamlessly across different devices and locations.

Here is a technical breakdown of Microsoft 365 and its key components:

  1. Office Applications:
    • Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, and OneNote: These are familiar desktop applications that have been part of Microsoft Office for many years. They are now available as part of Microsoft 365 and are continually updated with new features and improvements.
  2. Cloud Services:
    • Exchange Online: This is the cloud-based email hosting service that provides features such as email, calendar, and contacts. It enables users to access their emails from anywhere with an internet connection.
    • SharePoint Online: A cloud-based service for collaboration that allows organizations to create, share, and manage documents and other content in a secure and scalable manner.
    • OneDrive for Business: A cloud storage service that allows users to store, share, and collaborate on documents from anywhere. Each user gets their own OneDrive storage space.
  3. Communication and Collaboration:
    • Teams: A collaboration platform that integrates chat, video conferencing, file storage, and application integration. It is designed to facilitate teamwork and communication within organizations.
    • Yammer: An enterprise social networking service that enables communication and collaboration across different departments and teams.
  4. Security and Compliance:
    • Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Formerly known as Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, this service helps protect against advanced threats by providing email filtering and other security features.
    • Azure Information Protection: A service that helps classify and protect sensitive data, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access and share it.
  5. Management and Analytics:
    • Microsoft Endpoint Manager: Combines Configuration Manager and Intune into a unified management solution for deploying, securing, and managing devices in an organization.
    • Microsoft 365 Compliance Center: Provides tools to help organizations meet their compliance requirements and manage data governance.
  6. Business Applications:
    • Power BI: A business analytics service that provides interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough for end-users to create their own reports and dashboards.
  7. Power Platform:
    • Power Apps: Allows users to create custom apps without extensive coding skills.
    • Power Automate: Automates workflows and connects apps and services to streamline business processes.

Microsoft 365 is continuously evolving, with updates and new features being regularly released. The subscription-based model ensures that users always have access to the latest versions of the included applications and services.