Microsoft will offer a low-cost package of Microsoft 365, its online office solution. Called Microsoft 365 Basic, it will give access to 100 GB of storage and Outlook without advertising for € 1.99 per month.
Definitively replacing Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365 – formerly Office 365 – has become the reference suite for office automation. This set of tools includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access applications, as well as various online services such as OneDrive, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams and Yammer (see our full article on the subject) . Unlike Office, where the user acquired a lifetime user license on a computer, Microsoft 365 works as a subscription – monthly or yearly – and therefore allows you to take advantage of the services with their latest updates. In addition to that, it offers additional storage space and functions connected to the cloud, which in particular allow collaboration on files in real time (see our practical sheet).
But despite its popularity, the Redmond firm is not resting on its laurels and is constantly enriching it with new features. In particular, it plans to add Microsoft Designer, an AI-powered graphic design tool, and to include the incredible ChatGPT chatbot. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its 365 formula, Microsoft announces the launch of a new formula, still on subscription, but at a very low price: Microsoft 365 Basic. The formula is presented by the American giant as “a new way to get started with Microsoft 365”. Offered at € 1.99 per month, it is necessarily limited, but its purpose is above all to attract new users and retain them in order to make them switch to more expensive subscriptions.
Microsoft 365 Basic: an offer to replace OneDrive Standalone
As a reminder, for individuals – the firm also offers SME, Large Business and Education offers – there are currently two offers:
- Microsoft 365 Personal, at €7.00/month or €69.00/year: accessible for a single user, the suite can be used on five devices simultaneously on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, tablets and Android phones) and offers 1TB of online storage space.
- Microsoft 365 Family, at €10.00/month or €99.00/year: accessible for six users, the suite can be used on five devices simultaneously on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, tablets and Android phones) and it offers 6 TB of online storage space as well as additional features of the User Protection mobile application (such as parental controls).
However, there are also subscriptions that only allow access to OneDrive cloud storage: OneDrive Basic, which is free and allows you to store 5 GB, and OneDrive Standalone, which allows you to store 100 GB for €2.00/month or 20, 00 €/year.
For ten years of Microsoft 365, the Redmond firm has decided to replace the OneDrive Standalone offer with Microsoft 365 Basic – and this is to the subscriber’s advantage – at €1.99 monthly. It still gives access to 100 GB of cloud storage, but also to Outlook online without advertising and to Microsoft support – it allows you to get help for your subscription and for Windows 11 by phone or chat. It will then evolve further, as Microsoft wants to integrate other functions later this year, such as a solution to recover data after a ransomware infection, and the possibility of sharing content stored on OneDrive to the Internet. using a password protected link. Nice bonuses, but it will have been necessary to integrate at least one software – like Word – in a standalone version – via the desktop version and the mobile application – in order to make subscribers want to upgrade to a higher subscription. Afterwards, the software is still freely available online for anyone with a Microsoft account. The new offer will launch on January 30, 2023 worldwide and OneDrive Standalone subscribers will be automatically switched to it.
Microsoft 365: a new application and the management of its cloud storage
As announced in 2022, the company will abandon its Microsoft Office suite in favor of Microsoft 365. The application will therefore be entitled to a new logo and a new interface. It will provide access to all the tools of the office suite from a single application. Obviously, Cloud requires, the files will be automatically synchronized so that the user can access them from any device. It is already available on the Web, and will be during the month on Windows, Android and iOS.
Another novelty planned: from 1er February 2023, an update will allow the user to view, manage or upgrade their cloud storage on all their devices to get a simplified overview of their storage usage on the all of Microsoft 365, including OneDrive, Outlook, and others, from their Windows account, Windows settings, or app settings. For the moment, the Redmond firm does not seem to be planning to increase the prices of its subscriptions, despite inflation. At least, not beyond what was announced last year. Hope it lasts!
