{"id":179233,"date":"2017-07-24T09:12:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T14:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ntegrait.com\/office-2016-vs-office-365-pick-the-right-one-for-your-organization\/"},"modified":"2017-07-24T09:12:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T14:12:00","slug":"office-2016-vs-office-365-pick-the-right-one-for-your-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ntegrait.com\/office-2016-vs-office-365-pick-the-right-one-for-your-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"Office 2016 vs. Office 365: Pick the Right One for Your Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"
As Microsoft has added more products and expanded its services \u2014 plus started to rebrand some of its older services into new packages \u2014 it can be difficult for business leaders and professional workers to follow just what the company is actually selling. The famous example is \u201cOffice 365\u201d and \u201cOffice 2016\u201d which sound very similar but are in fact two very different things aimed at different buyers.<\/p>\n
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Now that Microsoft is talking about \u201cMicrosoft 365<\/a>\u201d as a combination of traditional tools and newer services, the waters are getting even more muddy. So let\u2019s stop and take a moment to look at two core offerings from Microsoft \u2014 Office 2016 and Office 365, and how their foundational differences impact everything else. There\u2019s a lot more to these offerings than some strange numbers. Here\u2019s what you can expect from both.<\/p>\n Office 2016 Is the Traditional Software Suite<\/strong><\/p>\n Back in the day, the Office apps \u2014 Word, Excel, and PowerPoint were what most people thought of \u2014 were easy to understand. If you wanted one, you bought a package that include both the disk loaded with the program and the license that allowed you to use it. Problem solved! But over time, buying options became more complicated for organizations and software began to be organized into different, more flexible categories. The arrival of cloud computing changed the buying model even more, until someone new to the process could be understandably confused about just what they were buying.<\/p>\n Office 2016 retains the simplicity of the \u201cold way\u201d of buying and gives you the long-term programs that Microsoft originally became famous for. You get a permanently downloaded version of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and depending on the version you also tend to get Outlook, Publisher, Access, and maybe OneNote. The \u201c2016\u201d here is the important part: Microsoft doesn\u2019t update its software with a new version every year, and sometimes waits a few years before releasing a new permanent download. That download with get periodic patches as time goes on, but it will eventually be replaced by a new version (understandably, many people stick with the old versions for a long time anyway, although this can eventually cause compatibility issues).<\/p>\n You Buy It Only Once, for One Computer<\/strong><\/p>\n That first download is the only one you need to use the Office 2016 \u2014 barring patches and updates to fix bugs, of course. The license is yours. There are advantages to this approach. For example, it makes it a lot easier to work without a connection to the internet, and you only need a connection when you want to share your documents or publish them.<\/p>\n However, when you buy Office 2016, you are buying only one license for one computer. This makes Office 2016 a little weird for companies \u2014 families and students have no problem with this single purchase model, but companies can\u2019t really buy a new version of Office 2016 for every computer they have. The closest they can get is a package deal with Microsoft to buy a number of computers, all with Office 2016 downloaded (something Microsoft prefers to replace with Office 365 for its professional clients, so this may be more difficult than it sounds).<\/p>\n There Are a Number of Different Versions Based on Individual Need<\/strong><\/p>\n First, there is a PC version and a Mac version, and you\u2019d better know which one you are getting. Second, there are several different classifications for Office 2016, including Home & Student, Professional, and so on. Office 365 also has a variety of classifications, but they are very different and focused mostly on pricing packages.<\/p>\nOffice 2016<\/strong><\/h3>\n