Microsoft 365 Suites

Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based productivity platform that provides various solutions, including the latest productivity apps in the Microsoft Office package. 

Microsoft has emphasised cloud-based solutions for nearly a decade, with the Office suite known as Office 365 or Microsoft 365 being the most prominent. These new Office packages come in different variations to meet various requirements. Higher-tiered product variants are significantly enhanced with additional cloud-based apps to improve productivity and organisation.

DCD-IT offers the full range of Microsoft cloud-based productivity plans for commercial, educational and non-profit organisations. 

For commercial clients, the main differentiator is the company size.

365 Suites: How do you decide which 365 plan would be best for your company to migrate to?

We’ve identified some baseline scenarios that determine the optimal 365 solution for your organisation.

Scenario 1

Suppose you already have an Office package (2019 or a newer version) and are content with the functionality of the basic Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps but want to start using cloud storage and conferencing. In that case, we recommend the 365 Business Basic plan. This plan includes online Office apps, the ability to use Outlook Online, seats for Exchange Online, shared cloud storage in OneDrive, and business-grade videoconferencing with Teams.

Scenario 2

If you want the most up-to-date office apps but your company won’t benefit from many cloud-based solutions, we recommend purchasing Microsoft 365 Apps for Business. This will provide you with desktop apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus shared cloud-based storage through OneDrive. Thus, you will always have the most recent version of the Office apps.

Scenario 3

For most users, the best way to switch to the cloud would be to use the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan. This is the equivalent of the Office Home & Business edition or Office Standard volume licensing package, but with added value from Teams for video conferencing, OneDrive for cloud-based storage, Exchange Online for email, and Sharepoint for intranet. This package will make your organisation perfectly suited for a cloud-based working environment.

Scenario 4

If you are content with the app scope of Microsoft 365 Business Standard but prefer more focus on security and device management, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the right fit. It provides all that with Entra ID (formerly AD), Defender, Intune and Purview. With these extra services, your organisation gains a good level of cybersecurity and the ability to manage devices and policies, all accessible via a centralised administration portal for improved monitoring and response.

Higher-tiered 365 Suites with extra services

For those who require advanced features and additional cloud solutions, the best choice is 365 for Enterprise. The primary distinguishing factor among the Enterprise packages available is the inclusion of Windows. Read more about:

365 for Enterprise →

If you are already equipped with Windows or prefer to purchase it separately, you should look for Office 365 for Enterprise plans:

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    Office 365 Apps For Enterprise

    Desktop apps missing some cloud features.

    Apps and services included:
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    Office 365 E1

    Web apps + cloud features*

    Apps and services included:
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    Office 365 E3

    Everything from E1 +  desktop apps + additional features and apps for rights management, data loss prevention and message encryption*

    Apps and services included:
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    Office 365 E5

    Everything from E3 + features and apps for advanced security and scalable business analytics*

    Apps and services included:

*Microsoft Co-pilot is available as an upgrade. Please contact our team for further information.

For those who want to have Windows included in their 365 packages, we recommend Microsoft 365 plans for Enterprise:

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    Microsoft E3

    Desktop apps + Windows Enterprise*

    Apps and services included:
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    Microsoft E5

    All from E3 + features and apps for advanced security and scalable business analytics*

    Apps and services included:
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*Microsoft Copilot is available as an upgrade. Please contact our team for further information.

All Enterprise plans for customers headquartered in the EEA and Switzerland are without MS Teams. Starting October 1, 2023, new customers in those countries must purchase Microsoft Teams separately to provide the app to their employees.

The Microsoft Frontline plans are for organisations that have a significant part of their workforce on the field using mobile devices such as tablets, phones, etc.:

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    Microsoft F1

    Web and mobile apps + cloud and security features + communication tools*

    Apps and services included:
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    Microsoft F3

    All from F1 + extra features for threat protection, compliance and collaboration tools*

    Apps and services included:

Frontline plans are now available both with and without MS Teams.

*Microsoft Copilot is available as an upgrade.

Are you looking for different types of productivity solutions? Explore our other offerings:

What do we offer?

Navigating all the software solutions while optimising costs can be challenging. DCD-IT can perform an audit to help you optimise the software used in your company and determine the most suitable solution for your current infrastructure. We can also provide the deployment of all solutions in our portfolio, saving you time and simplifying the process. If you need further assistance, count on us to take over all the tedious support and licence management tasks on your behalf.

Ready to boost your business productivity?

Contact our Software Solutions experts for a free consultation and we will find the 365 solution that best works for your organisation.

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