What is Microsoft Office Cloud?

Microsoft Office cloud is cloud based offering of Microsoft’s Office tools. They are available apart from standalone installations of Office editions.

Office 365

The main intent behind Office 365 product is to provide on-the-go access to Office applications. To achieve this, a single Office 365 product can be installed on one or many systems, tablets and phones. In addition, a cloud storage is allotted on OneDrive which allows users to work on documents anytime anywhere.

Office tools

Tools available in Office 365 subscription are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access database.

Subscription model

Subscriptions are either monthly or years basis and subscription cost varies based on chosen edition. Some educational editions are even free. While using Office 365, all the tools get upgraded to newer version provided the subscription is active.

Supported platforms

Office 365 can be installed on Windows and Mac desktops, iPad, Android tablets, Windows Phone and Windows tablets. System requirements can be checked here.

Office 365 Editions

Office 365 has numerous editions keeping in mind diverse user base. Below is a brief list of these editions.
For household

1. Office 365 Home
2. Office 365 Personal

For business

1. Office 365 Business Essentials
2. Office 365 Business
3. Office 365 Business Premium

For enterprise

1. Office 365 Enterprise E1
2. Office 365 Enterprise E3
3. Office 365 Enterprise ProPlus
4. Office 365 Enterprise E4

For educational institutes

1. Office 365 Education E1
2. Office 365 Education E2

For government

1. Exchange Online Plan 1
2. Exchange Online Plan 2

For non-profit organizations

1. Office 365 Nonprofit Business Essentials
2. Office 365 Nonprofit Business Premium
3. Office 365 Nonprofit E1
4. Office 365 Nonprofit E2

Other features

• Free OneDrive cloud storage up to 1 TB
• Seamless integration with Active Directory
• Free video conferencing through Skype (Unlimited for enterprises)
• Intranet site creation
• Free inbox up to 50 GB

This list is incomplete as there are various features catering to diverse usage of the product.

Office Online

If you don’t want to invest in any of the aforementioned editions, there is always a free option available i.e. Office Online. You can visit https://office.live.com/start/default.aspx at any time and start working on required artifacts. However, Office Online provides only limited tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Calendar and preview of Sway.