The Best of Both Worlds

Get the power of cloud productivity while ensuring that your
on-site apps and data are under control

Many small businesses today are focused on providing the flexibility and freedom their employees need to do business anywhere—whether accessing the latest data on a customer visit or quickly reviewing a sales proposal while at the kids’ soccer game. At the same time, businesses need to ensure that their IT environment is protected and under control, providing the peace of mind that everything from mobile devices to on-site servers are well-managed and secure.

Together, Office 365 and Windows Server 2012 offer the best of both worlds—combining the power of cloud productivity with the peace of mind of knowing your on-site data and apps are under control.

Flexibility & Simplicity for Your Small Business

The combination of Office 365 Small Business Premium and Windows Server 2012 Essentials offers a great balance of flexibility and simplicity for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

Use Office 365 cloud-based email, plus file sharing and HD video conferencing, all working seamlessly with your familiar and always up-to-date Office apps.
Provide fast, easy remote and mobile access to applications and data. Office 365 ensures your employees can sign in to Office and email—and their latest documents will be just as they left them.
With Office 365, you enjoy a predictable and affordable monthly cost for best-in-class productivity tools.
With Windows Server 2012 Essentials, you can keep sensitive data on-site when needed, and locally host business applications, like accounting and CRM.
Use a centralized dashboard in Windows Server Essentials to manage PCs and devices—and know that your data is further protected with daily, automatic backup of every computer on your network.

Why better together?

With Office 365 and Windows Server 2012, your organization can get the best of both worlds—the power of cloud productivity, combined with the control you need for your
on-site data and applications.

About Microsoft Office 365

Office 365 brings together familiar Microsoft Office desktop applications with business-class email, shared calendars, instant messaging (IM), video conferencing, and file sharing in a cloud-based service.

Bring together the familiar Office apps with cloud services like email, file sharing, & HD videoconferencing
Use Office across your devices—PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone—and know it’s always up-to-date
Get robust security with automatic data backup, strict privacy policy, and always up-to-date malware protection
Use enterprise-quality tools at an affordable price and no upfront infrastructure investment
Rely on a financially-backed, 99.9 percent uptime guarantee.

About Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Windows Server 2012 Essentials offers a simple and flexible server solution that helps protect your business data while enabling access to the applications your people need from almost anywhere.

Get the peace of mind that your employees’ devices are well-managed through a simple IT dashboard designed to easily handle common tasks and address issues before they occur
Access all your files and apps from virtually any location, just as if you were sitting in your office
Protect your data with daily, automatic backup of the server and the computers and devices on your network

Simplify your path to the cloud with centralized administration of cloud services and on-premises applications.

FAQs

What’s new in this release of Office?

The 2016 versions of familiar Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint include new features that help you create, communicate and work even more efficiently from virtually anywhere. In addition to updating the traditional Office suites, we’ve developed brand new subscription versions of Office, specifically designed for the way you use Office today. Each new subscription offer will include the 2016 versions of the Office applications, for example Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus offerings such as Skype world minutes and online storage with OneDrive. Subscribers will also receive future rights to version upgrades as well as per-use rights across multiple PCs or Macs and select mobile devices. Note: The Office applications you can use across PCs, Macs and other devices vary by platform.

What is the difference between the Office 2016 suites and Office 365 plans?

Microsoft Office is still the name we use for our familiar productivity software. Office suites have traditionally included applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. All Office 2016 suites include the latest versions of the applications, for use on a single PC. We use the name ”Office 365” for products that include cloud services, such as additional OneDrive online storage, features like Skype minutes for home use, Lync HD video conferencing or Exchange Online hosted email for businesses. Cloud services are features that are enabled over the Internet. Most Office 365 plans also include the full-featured Office 2016 applications, which users can install across multiple computers and devices. All Office 365 products, such as Office 365 Home Premium and *Office 365 Small Business Premium, are paid for on a subscription basis, annually. Active subscribers will receive future rights to version upgrades as a benefit of their subscription. Entitlements vary by product. Read the “Help me choose the suite that’s right for me”. * Office 365 Small Business Premium available in Electronic Software Download (ESD) form factor only starting February 1st 2014. Recommended to be sold only by VARs/SIs/Resellers that provide installation/setup services to Small Businesses.

How do I make sure I always have the latest Office applications?

Office 365 customers with active subscriptions always get the newest versions of the Office applications when they are available. When we release a new version of Office, you will be notified that you have the option to update your software to the latest version.

Can I install the new Office on my Mac?

If you buy an Office 365 subscription, you can install Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on your Mac. The applications available for Mac users and the version numbers may be different from those available for PC users. Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is also available for purchase as a standalone product.

Will Office be identical on a PC, a Mac, and a mobile device?

No, Office applications are tailored to work best on each platform and device.

For which devices will Office be available?

At launch, Office supports PCs running Windows® 7 or higher, and Macs with Mac OS X 10.6.0 or higher. Office Mobile supports Windows Phone devices running Windows Phone OS 7.5 and higher. Additional devices will be added in the future

Can I use Office languages other than the one I originally purchased?

Your Office 365 subscription enables you to install Office in 40 different languages. If you have Office 365 Home Premium you can choose the language to install Office in by visiting www.office.com/myaccount or if you have Office 365 Small Business Premium you can choose the language to install Office in by visiting login.microsoftonline.com. Not all languages will be available in all regions. Customers are limited to using Office in two languages at one time. For information about language options that are available with an Office product, visit www.office.com/language.

Can someone open Office 365 or Office documents using earlier versions of Office?

Yes, a person with a previous version of Microsoft Office can easily open documents created with the latest release of Office by using compatibility and service packs found at www.office.com.

What is Office on Demand?

Office on Demand comes with your Office 365 plan. It allows you to access your documents and settings and lets you use full-featured Office applications on PCs that don’t have the latest version of Office installed on them, for example a PC in the library, at a business center, or one that you borrowed from a friend. The full-featured applications are accessible via a web browser, instead of being permanently installed on the PC. Streaming speed depends on Internet connectivity speed. Once you close the applications, they are no longer available to other users of that PC. Documents you save to OneDrive will also no longer be available to other users, unless you saved them locally on the computer. You can use Office on Demand on a PC that is connected to the Internet and running Windows 7 or later.

What is the difference between the Office Web Apps and Office on Demand?

Office Web Apps are best suited for quick viewing and editing. Like Office Web Apps, Office on Demand allows users to access Office and their documents from anywhere. The difference is that Office on Demand can quickly stream the full-featured Office applications on any Internet-connected PC running Windows 7 or higher. Office Web Apps are available across a variety of operating systems, devices and browsers, providing access to Office tools and your documents when working from PCs with earlier versions of Windows, as well as from other platforms.

What is OneDrive?

OneDrive is a service that enables you to upload files to cloud storage and then access them from a Web browser, PC or Mac, or devices—no manual syncing or cables needed. Use your OneDrive storage and you’ll never be without the documents, notes, photos, and videos that matter to you. Just log on to a web browser, sign in to OneDrive.com, and go to work viewing or editing.

Why does Office save documents to OneDrive?

Saving your documents to OneDrive allows you to easily access and edit them on multiple devices from virtually anywhere. Office 365 Home Premium and Office 365 Small Business Premium subscriptions include an additional 20 GB of storage space on OneDrive. (Note: All OneDrive users receive 7GB OneDrive storage for free).

Are my documents stored on OneDrive also available offline?

Yes. For most PCs and Macs, when you save a document in Office, the default option saves it to a local OneDrive folder on the computer, which automatically syncs to OneDrive online. You can access your documents in the local OneDrive folder on your computer at any time, even if you are not connected to the Internet.

What is Lync Online?

Lync is a HD video conferencing service that helps you stay connected to the people who are important to you, via one-touch access to instant messaging (IM), email, audio and video calls, and online meetings and presentations. The latest version of Lync offers a new, clean look to help you communicate quickly and easily. You’ll also notice new features like shared notes and mobility that enable you to adapt Lync to your own personal workflow whether you’re in the office, at home, or on the go.

What is my Microsoft account and why do I need it for my Office software?

A “Microsoft account” is the new name for what used to be called a “Windows Live ID.” Your Microsoft account is the combination of an email address and a password that you use to sign in to services like Hotmail, Messenger, OneDrive, Windows Phone, Xbox LIVE, or Outlook.com. If you use an email address and password to sign in to these or other services, you already have a Microsoft account—but you can also sign up for a new one at any time. With this release of Office, you can associate your Microsoft account with your Office subscription. You need to sign in to your account or create a Microsoft account when you start an Office 365 Home Premium subscription or when you install the latest Office suites. The Microsoft account you use to sign up for your Office 365 subscription or install your Office suite will be the one you sign in with every time you want to manage your account; for example, when you install Office on a new computer in your household, or change your subscription billing details. Any time you want to install Office on another PC or Mac, choose a new language for an installation, or make other changes to your account, all you have to do is return to www.office.com/myaccount and sign in with your Microsoft account.

What happens when my subscription ends? How can I continue to work with my documents?

As the expiration date approaches, you will receive notifications in the Office applications and via email, alerting you to the upcoming expiration. Once your Office 365 subscription expires, the Office software applications enter reduced functionality mode, which means that you can view or print documents only, but you will not be able to create new documents or edit existing documents. To return to full Office functionality, you can purchase a new subscription or another version of Office, from Office.com or any participating retailer. You could also return to using an older version of Office, or use the free Office Web Apps on OneDrive for basic editing.

What if I already own a domain name?

You can add the domain name you own to Office 365 to create both domain-based email addresses and a public-facing website.

What happens to the documents I have stored in OneDrive when my subscription expires?

Your documents will remain accessible to share and download. You will have the option to access and edit your documents saved on OneDrive using Office Web Apps. You may save your OneDrive documents to another computer or disk drive at any time. If you have reached your free 7 GB storage limit, you won’t be able to add any further documents to OneDrive.