Microsoft has renamed its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and Live@edu suites as Office 365 and is launching a limited beta of the business version of the suite.
Kurt DelBene, president of the Office Division at Microsoft, had this to say:
Office 365 is the best of everything we know about productivity, all in a single cloud service. With Office 365, your local bakery can get enterprise-caliber software and services for the first time, while a multinational pharmaceutical company can reduce costs and more easily stay current with the latest innovations. People can focus on their business, while we and our partners take care of the technology.
Office 365 combines Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online in a single cloud service available for a monthly subscription. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees will be offered a package of Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online for $6 per month/user.
For $24 per month, a package which includes e-mail, voicemail, enterprise social networking, instant messaging, Web portals, extranets, voiceconferencing and videoconferencing, web-conferencing, 24×7 phone support, on-premises licenses, will be available under the name of Office Professional Plus.
The most important bit of information is that Clint Patterson, Director of Communications in Microsoft’s Office Division confirmed that the company is working to integrate Office 365 into the Aurora platform:
Is Microsoft still committed to an on premise solution like Small Business Server for smaller companies? Will SBS work with Office 365?
Yes. There are two editions of the next version of Small Business Server. One of them, SBS “Aurora” is an affordable, easy-to-use “first server” option for small businesses with 1-25 people. It meets the core needs of small businesses for things like remote access, file/print, and protecting their data with both client and server backup.
We’re looking to integrate numerous Microsoft technologies, including Office 365, with SBS “Aurora” in the future. You can sign up to be notified when the public preview of SBS “Aurora” is available here.
Whilst the post does not go into detail on the specifics of the integration, the assumption is that the Office 365 IT Management dashboard, user account and subscription management features will embed into the Aurora dashboard – however, this is yet to be confirmed.
If you would like to be part of the Office 365 beta, please visit the following link.
Co-Authoring
With co-authoring, edit the same document at the same time with others. No more multiple versions or waiting your turn.
Office Web Apps
With Office Web Apps, you can review documents and do lightweight editing from virtually anywhere and on any device with a browser.
Video Editing
The easy-to-use, powerful video- and photo-editing tools in Office Professional Plus help you add real impact to your communications, without the expense of professional fees.
Add New User
Provision a user/a mailbox/a SharePoint site.
Sign-In Page
After signing into Office 365, access Outlook, use Lync Online to connect with colleagues, and collaborate and share information on your SharePoint site.
IT Management Dashboard
Easily manage user experience in Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online and Microsoft Office Desktop Apps
Office Web Apps Header
What Office Web Apps look like in Office 365.
Website Setup
Setting up a public website in edit mode.
Microsoft Office on Windows Phone 7
See how Office integrates with Windows Phone 7
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