Excel 2016 vs Excel 365

For many years, Microsoft Office has been the preferred business suite for businesses. Rather than purchasing the latest update to obtain new features, you have two options: either pay a one-time upgrade fee to Microsoft Office 2016 (also referred to as the 17th software release) or utilize Office 365, an ongoing subscription service that offers cloud-based advantages.

A comparative analysis of Office 365 and Office 2016

Microsoft Office 2016, the latest software update, is probably familiar. Installing the software on any computer linked to your network only costs a one-time fee. On the other hand, Office 365 is a cloud-based solution that charges a monthly or annual fee for accessibility to the Microsoft application suite.

But the distinctions don't stop there. With a few extra benefits, Microsoft's cloud version frequently raises more questions about compatibility and usability.

What is Office 365?

Microsoft provides an office solution that runs on the cloud through subscription plans with Office 365. It offers access to numerous cloud services besides Microsoft Office 2016, which can be easily installed locally on several devices and used for offline work.

• An activated Microsoft Account is required for users to access Office 365.
• You may use Office 365 locally or through the cloud, depending on your subscription plan.

What is the 2016 Office?

• Including OneDrive cloud storage, Office 2016 is Microsoft's most recent iteration of the popular desktop office suite. Should you not need the complete office suite, you can install individual Office 2016 applications, Publisher and Access, including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• The bundle type the user has purchased determines which applications are available to them. Office 2016 Home & Student is a more compact version with fewer apps, while Office 2016 Professional offers a complete office suite.
  
• Instead of buying licenses for each seat, the software is set up once on each workstation, and extra users may obtain permits as needed. Despite being a locally tailored workspace, Office 2016 can be utilized without or with an Office 365 subscription.

Comparisons

• Office 2016 and Office 365 both provide packaged solutions for various cost structures.
• They both require Mac OS X 10.10 or Windows 7 (or later) to install on a computer.
• They share typical Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive applications.

Integration

Many features become available when Office 2016 is integrated with an Office 365 plan, such as:

• Word, Excel, and PowerPoint online and the complete desktop versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access are available from Office.
• Accessibility of the Office via mobile.
• Better data security, etc.

The following are the seven most important factors to consider when deciding between Office 365 and Microsoft Office 2016.

1. Problems with usability and "look and feel"

Everyone understands how to use the Office suite, or at least they should, which is one of the reasons it remains the preferred software for businesses. Most people have utilized Microsoft Office widely throughout their lives, whether for work-related projects or university assignments.

While some people might be content to use Microsoft Office applications through web browsers, others might prefer the intuitive nature of desktop software. Accordingly, Office 365 Business & Office 365 Business Premium allows you to install Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access on your desktop. Microsoft Office 2016 could thus be superior in this domain.

2. Keeping to old Office documents

Merging Office 365 with documents already created in Microsoft Office, internally or externally (by clients, for example), is another issue many businesses are worried about.

• Office 365 makes it possible for the two to work together seamlessly. If you'd like, you can use Office 365 to modify documents made with Office 2016 or earlier versions or to transfer Microsoft Office documents into the cloud.

3. Office 365 versus Office 2016 in terms of software updates available

• If you purchase Microsoft Office 2016, all of the software features available at that time will be yours, and you won't get any free security or bug updates. But as a feature of your subscription, Office 365 offers regular updates to the newest features, so out-of-date software is no longer an issue.
• This might not be a crucial differentiator for every company, as some companies can happily operate with older Office versions for years. But there is merit to Office 365's quick and low-maintenance update cycle, given that support for this software will eventually end and that many employees now expect the most recent versions out of the box due to cloud computing.

4. Acceptability of BYOD and remote work

One computer per license is required to install Microsoft Office 2016, and users usually use a shared server or local drive to access and store their documents. However, Office 365 offers endless cloud benefits since nearly 75% of employees now use their smartphones for business. Word and Outlook on any device-including smartphones and tablets-and cloud storage solutions like OneDrive and SharePoint Online-which can be acquired separately or as part of Office 365-can boost employee productivity. Employees can access store documents while they're on the go with all these options.

5. Online teamwork and storage

Your employees can collaborate on the same documents simultaneously using OneDrive and SharePoint Online, and they can see each other's changes instantly on the screen. This is in addition to the benefits of remote work. It differs significantly from utilizing a shared server, where you cannot alter a file if another user even has it opened on their machine.

6. Outlook 365 mailbox storage

Your company might benefit from the extra 50GB of Mailbox storage provided by Office 365 if you frequently remind staff members to clear or remove items from their inboxes. (While Exchange Server, which has been set up on-premises and can only provide the same space as their server, is a popular alternative to email, which isn't included with the Office 2016 suite.)

7. Security capabilities

Increased security features are Office 365's primary advantage over Microsoft Office 2016. For instance, Office 365 users can remotely erase their work data from stolen or lost devices because of the software's simple integration with Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility Suite. The cloud automatically provides software updates for anti-virus and malware programs.