Microsoft 365 Reviews

Pros

Office 365 is the most beneficial package for our small business IT company. Including top-rated desktop applications Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Access, OneNote, One drive ..etc all are tools increasing daily projects productivity and efficiency. One of the fantastic features is that it's also available with a web cloud app and mobile app, making team collaboration available anywhere. Some Educational organizations can get free of cost features for staff and students to boost learning using technology.

Cons

Minor bugs occur rarely. Pricing is but high for initial and beginning level business and office. But in the long run, it's is useful if all of the apps and features are utilized to full capacity. The PowerPoint interface can be made easier and more user-friendly. Word has some difficulty handling a hundred pages large project docs and often messed up formating. One Drive synchronization and naming could be better. For Startups, I think the libre office provides a budget-level choice.

Alternatives Considered

LibreOffice

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

As it was best compatible with our Windows system and cross-platform support for many other devices. Our clients also mostly had Office so we could give accurate services. Various productive features, shortcuts, macros and quick settings helped us in working on projects, collaborate with teams and complete assignments on time. Learning is easy from previous to the latest versions user interface. Security features are also considered for selecting this package. Support is better for any problem. For using advanced features we just read online official documentation, course, faqs, and tutorial to implement the latest functionalities. These compelled us to use it.

Pros

Always provides the latest version of all Office applications, can be used on multiple computers (depending on package purchased), offers OneDrive storage included with the packages

Cons

Becomes expensive over time, local installs of the applications sometimes need to be reactivated due to bugs in the activation system, locks you in to a specific software ecosystem

Alternatives Considered

LibreOffice

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

Wider support for various document types, and needed advanced features of Office that were not available on open-source alternatives.

Pros

In my opinion Microsoft 365 is a most have in any organisation. A lot of workloads and relief from the stress of installing different software to manage specific tasks. All its features have a purpose which they work to accomplish dutifully, nothing can ever go wrong. The package has features like file sharing, scheduling, and document management tools that can significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of both the individual and the organization. Microsoft 365 also has features like Office Suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office applications, which makes editing and sharing of documents easy and less stressful. Businesses that handle alot of documents will definitely see their work loands reduced with such a great tool.

Cons

To be able to use Microsoft 365 to its maximum requires a good amount of training. Subscription is restricted, software can be expensive as compared to other softwares, Microsoft 365 also needs constant updates which implies constant changes that sometime can sometimes be problematic to the workforce.

Pros

SharePoint is a good function for a medium to large sized business. We use it to post documents that our staff use consistently so they can find everything in one place. The documents can get kind of buried in the file structure but it's ideally the same as Windows Explorer once you get used to it. It's nice that you can personalize the sites with background photos and text. Another great feature is the downloadable apps that you get with an E3 account. You can download the apps on a number of computers so you can use it anywhere. Additionally you can download the apps on your phone or tablet.

Cons

OneDrive has given me some trouble when I've got the folder linked with my computer. If you upload things to the OneDrive via internet browser, it's great. Once I added it to my desktop and opened the file window to be used in addition to the web browser, it got questionable. I would open files from the file explorer window and edit them and they wouldn't upload to OneDrive when saved. It's something you really have to keep an eye on. Maybe it was my network card or internet connection. But when you have more than one person editing the same files at different times, you never know if you're getting the most up to date version of that file. I've lost a lot of data because of this. Also when you create Groups and try to use that group for an email, you have to be sure to expand the group or it won't be sent as an email. It will send as a group message and most of the people I work with don't know how to view that.

Pros

Microsoft 365 offers a comprehensive suite of features that allow users to be more productive, collaborate more efficiently with others, and stay connected while on the go. The cloud services, Office applications, and mobile apps make it easy to stay organized, communicate, and get work done.

Cons

Although Microsoft 365 is comprehensive, it can be confusing to navigate at times and the subscription cost can add up quickly. Additionally, some of the features can be difficult to learn and use.

Pros

1. Microsoft 365 works seamlessly across different platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It allows me to work on any device and access my files and applications, regardless of the operating system.2. Microsoft 365 integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft services like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365, which provides a more comprehensive solution for my needs.3. The ability to customize the Microsoft 365 user interface to suit my preferences is awesome. It allows me to personalize my workspace and make it more efficient for my needs.4. Microsoft 365 offers flexible and affordable pricing options, including monthly or yearly subscriptions.

Cons

Since Microsoft 365 is closely integrated with other Microsoft services, there can be a dependency on those services, which may not be ideal for users who prefer more flexibility and independence. While regular updates are great, Microsoft 365 users have limited control over when and how updates are installed, which can sometimes disrupt their workflow.

Pros

There is a lot of flexibility with how my screen can be displayed, how I want to be alerted and how I can organize my files. I appreciate the customization and its ability to fit different work styles. The interface is modern and works more than quickly enough to suit my needs. If I want to use this software on a mobile device, there is little hassle for that.

Cons

Occasionally there are errors with sending files but this doesn't happen often. The call quality of some meetings could be better but as long as your internet connection is stable, you will be able to remain present for what is discussed.

Pros

The wide breadth of tools and services. There is a solution for nearly every problem within M365. The integration between all of the tools are fantastic and getting better every day. MS is constantly adding new things and upgrading existing without needing to pay for yet another subscription.

Cons

The licensing can be a little confusing. Trying to figure out what features are available in which license tier can be a pain. There is almost literally a dashboard for every service to administer. It can be difficult to know where specific features are located at first.

Pros

Microsoft 365 is a suite of cloud-based productivity tools that offers various features and benefits such as:- Cloud storage for your files with OneDrive, which allows you to access your files from any device.- Collaboration tools that allow you to work with others in real-time on documents and projects.- Access to a wide range of applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Cons

- All services of Microsoft 365 requires a subscription fee.- The user interface and navigation of some of the applications may be a little bit complex or confusing for some users

Pros

You get a lot of tools (software) for a good price, even for small businesses.

Cons

Task management could be improved. I am missing some CRM functionalities for small businesses.

Pros

In general, this product has worked quite well for our organization. Microsoft consistently adds features, but with us being in the government cloud, it can take time for these features to reach us (Planner took 30 months to reach us). On the other hand, these features are being added with greater regularity than the competition. For office software, Office 365 is the gold standard.

Cons

It's expensive. There is no flexibility on licensing. If you have 1000 licenses, you can license no more than 1000 people. 1001 is right out. Since it takes time to buy licensing (between our purchasing process and our licensing agent), we need to constantly run 2-5% extra licensing. This is in effect, a 2-5% increase to the cost of the software/service. I don't know if Microsoft factored this into their pricing scheme, but we did not when balancing the cost of this product vs. alternatives.

Alternatives Considered

Google Workspace

Reasons for Choosing Microsoft 365

feature set

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

Google fails to provide an actual vanity URL for our people to use. (They say they do, but the files don't actually come from that URL.) This makes it far more difficult to protect our users from malicious files coming from other organizations. Also, every G Suite organization we spoke with told us we'd need to hire a full time scripter to get the suite working well for our users. This extra cost was almost the cost difference between G Suite and O365. This decision felt like a no-brainer.

Pros

Our company recently switched from G-mail to Office 365. We found that Office 365 is a lot easier to use in terms of remote login as well as on mobile devices. Also, the file sharing and e-mail search function is better than g-mail.

Cons

The only issue that we had is that with 365 you have to a different license if you want to download the application to your desktop. The advantage of having the Outlook (e-mail for Office 365) application on your desktop is that you are able to work with it when disconnected from wifi. Many of our employees travel for work and are planes or airports where they may not have easy access to wifi....so they need to still be able to respond to e-mails. The fact that we had to pay extra to get the applications downloaded for remote use was a bit frustrating.

Alternatives Considered

Gmail

Reasons for Choosing Microsoft 365

While g-mail is good for a smaller company, we found it very difficult to use for searching and archiving e-mails. Also, it was not great with document management.

Switched From

Gmail

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

We considered staying with g-mail but once we received a demo from Microsoft on Officer 365 is became obvious to us that we need to make a change.

Pros

Upgrading from Office 2010 Professional Plus to Office 365 Business was a very simple process for us, our older files written in the 2010 format were imported to Office 365 with no lost data or compatibility issues at all. The software layout is very similar so there was little to no downtime learning a whole new program which seems to be common with Microsoft software, any buttons that were removed or changed were ones we didn't use anyway. With the added security of OneDrive cloud backup and steady updates we never have to worry about a out of date program slowing or stopping productivity. If you are on an older version now is a great time to upgrade to 365.

Cons

We have had no issues with Office 365. however, if your business has a slower than average internet connection it could very well become an issue in that this is a cloud based software suite. before you commit to using it it would be a good idea to run a speed check on your internet and make sure you have an adequate connection at all times. Finally this is a newer piece of software so making sure your PC is up to date is important as well.

Alternatives Considered

Google Workspace

Reasons for Choosing Microsoft 365

We needed an office suite that would evolve with the newest operating systems and service packs that are being rolled out by Microsoft, with older software compatibility becoming an issue today it is imperative that we stay current with usable features as well as important security updates with our Outlook software. Office 2010 Professional Plus did not have several key features in which we have come to use daily such as being able to Co-Author documents, OneDrive Backup and protection as well as Dictation among other great features. Finally Microsoft has officially stopped supporting the software which made my decision to switch to 365 much easier.

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

While G Suite is an great software suite we wanted to use what we were comfortable with. Learning a new program means downtime and in a high pace business like ours means lost revenue.

Pros

As you would expect, the world standard office suite "excels" at word, excel, powerpoint, etc..the latest versions brought innovative feature without losing the plethora of customizations and toggles inherited from the past, aka you can customize it to a LOT to fit exactly your workflow.

Cons

Outlook needs to be bugfixed, outlook needs to be bugfixed, outlook has huge bugs. Outlook works weird but tolerable when paired with Exchange, otherwise it's a PITA piece of code. Makes email disappear, has huge latencies, pst corruption, ost corruption, reacts badly to external errors(no internet connectivitiy, unresponsive mail server..). To be clear, it has none of the stability of Thunderbird, which is free. When we deploy it in a business or corporate environment we always pair it with a mail backup system.

Alternatives Considered

Google Docs, Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft 365

While LibreOffice is a solid alternative for 90% of the stuff, Microsoft365 edges it with the advanced functions which are useful at business and corporate level, and it's basically the only contestant for proper(and i mean it, proper) multi user office work.

Pros

Microsoft 365 is the meat and potatoes. It is built to perform. As a business owner it is the software i have come to rely on the most. The outlook email host is what i use to access my five different accounts. It helps to keep me organized and is task oriented. There are plenty of options to be creative and dress it up. But i am so pleased that those pretty features are just that. Options. I like how the format of outlook matches microsoft office. Direct. Logical. Simple to customize, which is what makes it so easy to organize, and endless possibilities for rules, responses, forwards, etc. The search and help features do exactly that. I can find anything quickly and I can figure out how to do what i want to do with minimal effort.

Cons

The only downfall for Microsoft 365 is its ability to integrate with apple products. Or Apps. The apps don't seem to function fully as they do on the desktop. but then again, do any apps perform better then the full software or website? i do not think they do.

Pros

Tight integration with Microsoft Outlook (unlike other email platforms). This is most noticeable with contacts and calendars, including sharing. The subscription-based model allows for easy updates to the latest Office software while being able to control if those updates should be deployed at all. This helps to keep all users on the same version without the concern of having to buy upgrade licenses and perform a traditional software rollout. The ability to save directly to OneDrive and/or Sharepoint with applications such as Word or Excel is extremely valuable and is a great solution for small organizations that have no local central storage or tend to save items directly on their own PCs. Email accessability is simple via web, mobile, and desktop. Storage space is sufficient and can be expanded easily (for an additional cost). Tenant management is very easy to use and navigate - most areas are very self-explanatory (help is easily accessible as well).

Cons

Office 365 has matured quite well. Early on, tenant management was a little clunky and over time features have been added. A wish-list item would be wider acceptance for OneDrive integration with 3rd party apps - similar to DropBox.

Pros

Office 365 offers a variety of apps that integrate with one another and are fairly easy to use. In particular, Teams is a solid app that can be used for chatting, video/phone calls, and generally staying in frequent communication across an organization.

Cons

There's not a good calendar-planning tool to help you manage projects and deadlines. They haven't been staying on schedule with planned upgrades and new product roll-outs.

Pros

-It has many tools and features.
-It is very complete for use in a company.
-I can centralize all the information.
-I can do with this tool alone everything that I was doing with different tools separately and I can even do more and everything from the same place.
-Ideal for teamwork.
-I feel like it helps me get my business off the ground and for a fair price.
-It integrates with many other new or well-known tools on the market, making it really a very wide possibility to adapt its control panel to any type of undertaking or task.

Cons

-It is not a con, but to some people it may seem like it. It has so many tools and so many integration options, it can be a bit overwhelming.
-I feel that the learning curve can be a bit overwhelming also at the beginning, not so much because of learning to use the tools, which are intuitive in themselves, but because of the large number of options, which will have to be discovered little by little, and It involves spending some initial time on it until you know everything there is well.

Pros

Microsoft 360 is an excellent professional program in the full sense of the word, suitable for teachers, business owners, and studentsIts advantages are many, I will mention a few of them* You can add any line you want* A Word file can be formatted, for example, into any language* You can create a page as you want with settings in Microsoft Word* Presentation reviews can be customized as you like with consistent color, speech, audio and video* In Excel, you can create an expense and profit accounting template for years, which reduces your time and effort, as well as sales and organizing tasksMany features can convert video with audio into written textAnd the beautiful thing is that there are packages for the family, individuals, and education at special pricesAnd students with a university email can get an excellent discountIt also helps if it's with a teamA program made by qualified expert engineers that really saves a lot of time and effort with experience

Cons

There is nothing negative to say* It is possible for all the features of the computer version to be put in an application on a phone. If there are not all features in a phone that are complete and comprehensive* There is a problem with a phone application. When I press a space, a point appears, not a space. This is a simple problem* We want it to be a private USB dedicated only to Microsoft 365. It is internal to the USB and cannot be modified or added. This is just an idea I want to add

Pros

I really love that Microsoft 365 comes with multiple programs, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft 365 allows you to choose if you would like to save/store your file on your computer or in the cloud to be accessed anywhere. I also really love the feature that allows you to send a document to someone else, with the ability to make comments, track changes, and accept or reject those changes/comments. It makes collaboration effortless and allows the user to seamlessly see what changes have been made. There are also a variety of templates available from invoices to calendars to newsletters. You can even download new templates to meet whatever need you may have. Overall, Microsoft 365 is a very comprehensive program.

Cons

I have found two major downsides to Office 365. First, you have to make the choice as to if you would like to save your file to the cloud or save it to your computer's hard drive. I would like the option to save it in both locations simultaneously, allowing offline access as well as online access. The second major flaw that I see is that Word discontinued the support for Microsoft Publisher on Macs. It still works on PCs, but not Macs. I am a teacher and I used the older version of Microsoft Office that had Publisher for years and created a significant number of documents in publisher for school. I delayed upgrading to Microsoft 365 as long as possible because I did not want to lose the ability to use Publisher. This program allowed me to create my own worksheets by layering text and pictures however I wanted to on the page...this cannot be easily done in a word document. When upgrading to Microsoft 365, I was incredibly disappointed to find that there was not Microsoft publisher for Macs and that there was no intention to create a publisher program for macs. This has made it difficult for me to open and change things in my old publisher files, and I have had to find a new program that works with Macs to continue to create worksheets, etc. for school.

Pros

I've been an Office user since Office 97, and the productivity suite truly does just get better with each iteration. I have tried switching to GSuite and other online-first products, but for my workflow the desktop versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote are irreplaceable. I do use the web versions of Office 365 as well at times, and they work quite well, especially if I just need to open and print a document or make a quick edit to something. Their ease-of-use is at least as good if not better than GSuite, which is the primary competitor. Going with the subscription model, I am able to keep my Office up-to-date without needing to purchase and go through more significant upgrades every few years. It's just there!

Cons

While I love the feature completeness of 365 software, it is rather heavy. I acknowledge that not everyone needs everything that is offered, however the web versions provide 99% of the most-necessary functionality, which is awesome! 1TB of storage coming by default is great, however it isn't the large storage quantity that it once was. It would be great if storage tiers could scale with how much data the average person generates today, rather than 5 years ago when it was likely decided on.

Pros

in my personal experience office 365 has been satisfactory, i work in a University. The nature of my organization requires continuous and constant contact with a multitude of multidisciplinary teams.
As all organizations, saving is fundamental to provide more resources. Effective communication, immediacy in the access to information and teamwork are fundamental keys to perform our work. Office 365 has allowed us to build an efficient work platform. With a single annual payment we are entitled to a business license that allows us to access office 365 in all the computers of the organization.
We have been able to structure all office 365 services in a shared way. For example we have an institutional email through the Exchange Online tool, likewise we support all our documentation in Onedrive, the office cloud that provides us with up to a terabyte of space. In terms of communications we have business Skype, which allows us to hold video conferences, online meetings and shared remote access to desktops from PC to PC.
However, what I consider to be a great of office 365 is the online sharepoint tool. which allows us to create sites to share files and large documents between colleagues. We have used it as a kind of digital repository for all our shared data.
Through office 365 we were able to articulate our work efforts. it facilitates us to keep track of projects, keep communication in real time as well as a backup of everything we are doing and sharing.

Cons

In my personal experience office 365 has been so satisfactory that I have nothing to object to. I can only say thank you microsoft.

Pros

I have been a subscriber to Office 365 since 2019. I am using Excel and MS Word heavily since they came out. I am an accountant by profession and these two apps (Excel & MS Word) including Powerpoint helped me get the job done in my work and in my business.

By the way, Office 365 Family allows you to install your devices up to 5 devices. Your apps get sync between your devices. So the history of the files you are working on with the 3 software I mentioned above gets synced and stored in the history of your devices. If you are using OndeDrive to store your files, then you will be able to access them anywhere as long as there is Internet. And with the history stored in your software, you know where to pick up where you left off.

Another key feature if you are using Office 365 is the ability to get automatic upgrades and updates. As long as you stay subscribed, your software are always up-to-date.

Office 365 also provides access to other apps such as Outlook, Access, Publisher, One Note, OneDrive (cloud storage), and Skype usage (60 minutes / month if you are using Family.)

Lastly, another feature is file sharing. You can share your files to anyone you want and give them the access to edit it. You can share a file or a folder.

Cons

Subscription cost is the price for using Office 365. Not everyone likes to pay subscription. But if you are a heavy user of Excel, MS Word, Outlook and OneDrive and works with different devices like me then it's worth it. But if you're just a casual user, you may not utilize its full potential. Although the Family subscription can lower down your cost greatly by sharing it with your household.

This might not be bad thing, but I must point out, you may not be able to use all its apps and features. Because of free communication online, I don't use Skype. I also don't use Access and One Note.

Pros

It is useful for small and big companies. There are three different packages that you can use, depending on your type of business - small or professional use.
Thing that I like most in office 365 is that there is big storage - 50 GB for emails, which is very convenient if you are working with a large customer range and you receive 1000 to 2000 email per day.
Second thing is share point online where you can upload and share your documentation with people from work, it is very easy to access and update it.
You can use it on five different devices – Mac, PC or mobile, which is an advantage if you need quick to send, adjust or upload needed information or any data.
One Note is a good option where you can create guides, make notes and it is very handy and easy to use.
Also, one drive – cloud storage is 1 TB which is very useful.

Cons

It is not fully accessible when you are working online from web browser, sometimes it can lag or slowly work when is booting with Skype in background.
Can’t fully use Excel in browser, also there is a difference when you are using document online and in word.There is a big difference in outlook online and in application, you are limited for some options, for example conversation is going into the one email, like in a text message conversation and formatting options are limited, also it will not add auto signature when you are replying or sending emails.

Pros

Microsoft is excellent in its support for office 365 and whenever I have needs to call on them, they have always responded and even for clients I cannot go to, the support from Microsoft sometimes mean that my input is not even needed to overcome their complaints.
There is a staggering volume of effective updates for office 365. I recall having an issue with outlook on a client’s platform that resulted in a system crash whenever he tries to access it. He called me and complained and I was supposed to go fix it by the weekend. Incidentally, an update was released that same day and by the time he installed the new update, that issue was magically solved and thus saved me the stress of embarking on that trip. I will never forget that because it was an already hectic period for me.
There is 1TB of secure OneDrive storage which comes with a business version of 365 which some of my clients appreciates because it saves the cost of getting additional cloud storage from other vendors.
Accessibility is very key in my line of duty and the ability to access word, excel, power point, Skype and use outlook as found in office 365 domiciled on my pc and in the cloud anywhere I am, gives me the confidence to take on many tasks.
The collaboration tools like SharePoint and Microsoft Teams is useful for teamwork and integration of processes amongst departments of large organizations.
Another amazing thing about office 356 is that the developers are consistently improving on the application.

Cons

It is a very bloated suite and many clients don’t make use of up to 50% of the functions embedded in it.
The suite is not completely available on some platforms. For instance, I once tried to deploy it on a client’s MAC only to find out that Microsoft publisher was not available.
Maybe it is just me but I think the pricing for office 365 is incredulous when compared to similar suites.
For slow internet, the online application for programs like Access and excel is going to test your patience especially for large tables and data.