Microsoft provides a clear, well-defined matrix titled ' Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plan options.' After comparing the information from that site against Microsoft's Business and Enterprise Licensing sites, this table shows the viable licensing options at the time this article publishes (Table 1). Office 365 and Microsoft 365 licensing comparison As such, it is outside of the purview of this discussion. Windows 365 is the OS - not Office 365 or Microsoft 365, which are application services. Microsoft calls this approach to OS licensing and delivery a Cloud PC. The newest of these offerings, Windows 365, is a cloud service that distributes Windows 11 to clients as a service in much the same way Google distributes ChromeOS for Chromebooks. In addition, Microsoft defined a new product set called Microsoft 365 for frontline workers that includes both Office 365 and Microsoft 365 products, but this is set to an Enterprise class license only. Microsoft 365 serves as a more extensive feature set than Office 365. The Microsoft 365 service was initially thought to be a replacement for Office 365, but they function to this day as separate services.

Organizations can choose from a range of features for this service, including a suite of productivity apps, cloud storage, unified communications and more.

This is a cloud subscription service that eased the pain of desktop software maintenance and licensing for businesses.

It's worth getting to know each service, especially Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Microsoft offers several services that include the number 365 - Office 365, Microsoft 365 and Windows 365 - some of which offer Windows 11 licensing with the right bundle. Windows 11 licensing with Office 365, Microsoft 365 and Windows 365 With numerous options to choose from depending on use cases, IT departments need to determine exactly what their desired Windows 11 license comes with.

Microsoft 365 plans