Do Office 2021 and Office 365 Have Identical Features? Dispelling Common Myths

What are Office 2021 and Office 365

Lately, numerous businesses have started to depend on management applications and tools to organize their operations and ensure a smooth working process. Some of the most commonly used applications are Office 2021 and Office 365.

Both of these tools are products of Microsoft, making them similar in some cases and different in others. When deciding which is the most compatible and applicable to a company’s working process, it is essential to understand Office 2021 vs Office 365 differences and similarities.

Despite their differences, both tools aim to provide management solutions to users. By using Office 365, users are able to share and integrate other Microsoft products into the application and work collaboratively with their colleagues and teammates. On the other hand, by using Office 2021, users are able to have access to other Microsoft products; however, they will not be able to use the files and data collaboratively with their colleagues.

Nevertheless, even with their differences, both tools offer numerous types of advantages and benefits to users. However, one of the tools can be considered more compatible with a business’s operations compared to the other. Thus, ensure to do some research and even consider having a trial period to understand which is the best application.

What are the significant advantages of using Office 2021 or Office 365

Nowadays, most applications are designed to increase the effectiveness of a workflow of a business. The same goal is applied to Office 365 and Office 2021, both of which are known to provide benefits and advantages to their users.

One of the most critical advantages that both of these Microsoft applications provide is the increased security and protection of the confidential data of a company. In other words, when using Microsoft products, whether it is Office 365 or Office 2021, employees and managers will be ensured that their data and files are secured with multi-factor authentication.

On the other hand, a difference that Office 365 has compared to Office 2021 is that it allows users to collaborate with others during their work. The ability to collaborate has proven to increase the effectiveness of an employee’s work, improving job satisfaction. With an increase in employee satisfaction, some companies have seen an increase in their company’s employee retention rate.

Lastly, the tools solve some of the technical issues that employees spend numerous hours on before integrating the device into their operations. Since employees do not spend additional time on technicalities, they have started to dedicate more time to their actual work, which has proven to increase the outcome per employee in many corporations.

Now that you know the advantages your company will get by using the tool, it is essential to understand the differences between them to decide which one to integrate into your business.

Differences and similarities of both of the tools

→ 1- Payment method

First and foremost, the most evident difference between the two tools is the payment method.

When using Office 365, companies are required to become a member and subscribe to benefit from the tool. Even though there are different types of subscriptions, all of them are to be paid monthly by users.

On the other hand, with Office 2021, the payment is made only one time, and users will be able to take advantage of its features on some of the devices that the application is installed and activated.

→ 2- Integration of different Microsoft Products

Since all the tools are Microsoft products, Microsoft allows users to integrate other Microsoft products into it - such as Microsoft Word, Teams, Microsoft Excel, etc.

However, this feature can only be applied to Office 365. With Office 2021, users can integrate some of the products but not all.

→ 3- Access to cloud storage

Nowadays, the demand for remote and online work has increased, and companies have tried to meet the market by offering this type of job to their users.

However, to make remote work more accessible, companies have started to use cloud storage to store their files.

For that, one of the advantages of using Office 365 is that businesses have the chance to use shared cloud storage as it comes with a subscription to the tool.

On the other hand, with Office 2021, users do not have the ability to use cloud storage since the purchase does not provide this feature.

→ 4- Availability of different types of subscription plans

With Office 365, companies are able to choose from other types of subscription plans based on the size of their company.

With Office 2021, the payment for the application is fixed, and companies do not have an option to choose from.

→ 5- Accessible on different types of electronic devices

Finally, with Office 365, companies are provided with the opportunity to use the tools and features on any device they prefer, no matter its size. This can be done by logging into a Microsoft account.

However, Office 2021 can only be used on a device that it is installed on, and they cannot continue their work from another device.

Conclusion

Thus, it is essential to do some research prior to committing to one of the applications to ensure that the application is the most applicable one for the company.

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