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Your Guide to Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Overview

Microsoft 365 Business Standard is the ideal license to build your business with powerful applications. Collaborate seamlessly with your team across devices with tools that are always up to date. Increase efficiency with an abundance of applications at your disposal such as Microsoft SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and more. Plus, securely store your files in the cloud with access to them anytime, anywhere.
Are you struggling with out of date applications that are configured to one device, forcing you to rely on that single device to get work done? Are your teammates able to work together flawlessly, or are they stuck relying on third-party applications, like Slack, for collaboration?

Without a powerful platform like Microsoft 365, it can often feel like your business is fumbling around in the dark. You’re not completely lost without Microsoft 365, but the platform sure does make your life easier by providing you with features like single-sign-on, cross-platform access, professional email, cloud storage, and more.

In this article, we’ll take a look at:

  • What features are available with the Microsoft 365 Business Standard license?
  • What apps are available with the Business Standard license?
  • What are the compatibility and requirement options for Microsoft 365 Business Standard?
  • What is the pricing for the Business Standard license?
  • Can I try Microsoft 365 Business Standard for a trial period?

What Features are Available with the Microsoft 365 Business Standard License?

Get Desktop Versions of Office Apps

With Microsoft 365 Business Standard, you’ll have access to desktop versions of Office apps, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote. You’ll also have access to Microsoft Publisher and Access (for PC only).

50GB Mailbox and Custom Email Domain

Users who sign up for a Business Standard subscription can host their email with a 50GB mailbox and can set up a custom email domain for their business.

Connect Team Members with Instant Messaging and Meetings

With access to collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, your employees can connect with each other to chat, voice, video calls (meetings), send files, and more.
Hosting meetings are simple with a one-step screen sharing option.

Learn more about Microsoft Teams.

Cloud Storage with OneDrive

Subscribing to Microsoft 365 Business Standard will provide you with 1TB cloud storage (per user) on Microsoft OneDrive. This will allow your team to safely store and share business files.

Use Office Apps Across Devices

With a single Business Standard license, your employees can install Office apps on five mobile devices, five tablets, and five PCs (or Macs) per user.

Build an Intranet

With the Business Standard option, users can connect their organisation with an intranet via SharePoint. Users can share content, knowledge and processes with an easy-to-use site.

Receive Support

If you’re a Business Standard user, you’ll receive support via the phone or web directly from Microsoft.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard Apps

The following Office apps are available for use with the Business Standard License:

Microsoft Outlook

Need a professional email platform? Then Outlook is the app for you. Microsoft Outlook helps you stay productive and connected with your team at the office, at home, or on the go.

Learn more about Microsoft Outlook below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/outlook/outlook-for-business

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is an online storage platform that allows users from across the globe to upload their files and photos to the cloud, safely and securely.

Learn more about Microsoft OneDrive below:

https://www.overdrive.co.za/your-guide-to-microsoft-onedrive/

Microsoft Word

We should all be familiar with Microsoft Word by now, but to help you refresh your memory, Word is one of the most popular applications to help users create, read and edit documents.

Learn more about Microsoft Word below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word

Microsoft Excel

Another well-known app, Microsoft Excel, is a powerful data visualisation and analysis tool allowing you to take your data analytics to the next level. With Excel, you can organise your data by creating spreadsheets from templates (or on your own) and using modern formulas to perform needed calculations.

Learn more about Microsoft Excel below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Remember how your teacher taught you important lessons through a projector with slides? Now, Microsoft PowerPoint has many new features available and hundreds of templates for you to choose from.
Need to create a professional presentation for your next meeting? Need to present a topic at school? Microsoft PowerPoint is the tool for you.

Learn more about Microsoft PowerPoint below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/powerpoint

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is a web-based platform, similar to Google Drive but with greater functionality, created for simplified collaboration. The platform allows 365 users to share and manage content (files, resources, company news, etc.) and applications to collaborate across the organisation.

Learn more about Microsoft SharePoint below:

https://www.overdrive.co.za/what-is-sharepoint-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-microsoft-platform/

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a communication platform developed by Microsoft and is part of the Microsoft 365 product family. The platform is primarily used for chat, video calls, file sharing and storage, application integration, and more.

Learn more about Microsoft Teams below:

https://www.overdrive.co.za/why-microsoft-teams-might-be-the-right-solution-for-you/

Get started with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams empowers your team with the needed tools to communicate and power through projects.

Start Today

Microsoft Exchange

Think of Microsoft Exchange as Microsoft Outlook on steroids. With Exchange, you can take your email and calendar to the next level. Exchange allows you to collaborate on critical documents and prioritises important messages in your inbox to help you get crucial tasks done, faster.

Learn more about Microsoft Exchange below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/exchange/email

Microsoft Publisher

Similar to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing app that allows users to create and edit documents. However, although users can use documents, the major focus is on page layout and design instead of text composition and proofing.
Microsoft Publisher is available for PC only.

Learn more about Microsoft Publisher below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/publisher

Microsoft Access

With Microsoft Access, users can build their own database apps without the need for a developer. It’s an easy to use tool with many templates available, or you can start from scratch.

Microsoft Access is available for PC only.

Learn more about Microsoft Access below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/access

Microsoft 365 Business Standard Compatibility, Requirements and Pricing

Compatibility

Business Standard is compatible with Windows 7 service pack 1, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.

Requirements

PC

Mac

Android

iOS

Processor

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster x86- or x64-bit processor with SSE2

Intel processor

Android KitKat 4.4 or later version and have an ARM-based or Intel x86 processor

N/A

Operating System

Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 10 Server, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012

macOS

OS version: KitKat (4.4.X) or aboveOS version: KitKat (4.4.X) or above

Android KitKat 4.4 or later version and have an ARM-based or Intel x86 processor

Memory

1 GB RAM (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

4 GB RAM

1 GB

N/A

Hard Disk Space

3 GB of available disk space

6 GB HFS+ hard disk format

N/A

N/A

Display

1024 x 768 resolution

1280 x 800 resolution

N/A

N/A

Pricing

Visit the link below to have a look at the costs for the Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/microsoft-365/business/affiliate-program-buy-microsoft-365-business-standard

Microsoft 365 Business Standard Trial

Want to play around with the Business Standard before committing? You can test the Microsoft 365 Business Standard license with a 1-month free trial to see if it’s the right choice for your business.

Simply reach out to our consultants to set up your trial and get started.

Contact Us for a Free Trial

Glossary

Custom email domain – As a Microsoft 365 user, you can create a custom email domain/address for your business, for example, george@overdrive.co.za.

Microsoft SharePoint – Microsoft SharePoint is a web-based collaboration platform primarily used to create websites or an intranet. Here’s everything you need to know about Microsoft SharePoint

 

Try Microsoft 365 for Business

Talk to our Microsoft 365 experts to get started with Microsoft 365 Business Standard.

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