Microsoft's new Office

Microsoft is adding a new consumer-focused offering that primarily relies on SkyDrive as its cloud component (though it will also make use of SharePoint Online if and when that is available). Here are the four plans that Microsoft made available to testers recently.

It is expected that the final version of the new Office 365, when available, will include support for Office for Mac, too. Microsoft officials still aren't saying when and whether Microsoft also will be making its Office suite and/or an Office 365 subscription plan available on iOS or Android devices, as has been rumored.  


Office 365 Home Premium Preview: Allows users to install one licensed copy of Office on up to five PCs and get an additional 20 GB of online storage on SkyDrive, which becomes the default for saving and sharing documents online. Home Premium includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access and Publisher. Users also will be able to save documents locally if they so prefer, or to SharePoint if it is available. Also included in this SKU: 60 minutes of Skype credit per month to call mobile or landline phones with Skype

Office 365 Small Business Premium Preview: Aimed at businesses with up to 10 employees. Each user can install Office, getting the same applications that are included in Office 365 ProPlus -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Publisher, InfoPath and Lync -- on up to five PCs per user. This version is hosted by Microsoft.

Office 365 ProPlus Preview: Subscription-based locally installable version of Office that enables users to reate up to 25 user accounts, with five installations of Office 365 ProPlus per user. It includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath and Lync.

Office 365 Enterprise Preview: Combines Office 365 ProPlus with Exchange Online, including archiving and legal hold to fully manage email in the cloud. It also includes SharePoint Online to manage and share documents and Lync Online to allow you to conduct meetings and collaborate across remote teams and team members.