The software giant is renaming it to “Microsoft 365” to bring it under its umbrella of productivity apps.
Microsoft Office has been a big name in the productivity market for decades, but the Redmond giant has decided to give it a fresh lick of paint. Soon, the Microsoft Office suite will be rebranded as “Microsoft 365.”
Microsoft Office Gets a Rename
As spotted by Ars Technica, Microsoft made an announcement on the Microsoft 365 website about the name change. It features a handy FAQ that answers a lot of questions about the change:
Over the last couple years, Microsoft 365 has evolved into our flagship productivity suite, so we are creating an experience to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365. In the coming months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will become the Microsoft 365 app, with a new icon, a new look, and even more features.
Microsoft states that it plans to make this change during November 2022, so it won’t be long until Office will get its makeover.
Microsoft is quick to add that this doesn’t mean that the suite of apps including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more isn’t going away. The company just wants to bring Office under its Microsoft 365 umbrella. The name change also won’t prevent you from buying and downloading Office 2021.
An Unnecessary Change by Microsoft?
The company’s decision to rebrand its Office suite as Microsoft 365 comes as a bit of a shock. The words “Microsoft Office” have long been a well-recognized brand name, both in business and in the home.
In fact, the word “Office” has been a beacon of hope for those who prefer to purchase and own their productivity suites, instead of paying for Microsoft 365’s subscription service for a cloud-based product. And now that Office is merging with Microsoft 365 in name, it may confuse people as to which parts are cloud-based and which are standalone apps.
And given that the change will roll out within a month, there seems to be little time to warn people about the change. We’ll have to see if this move confuses people, or if the userbase can adapt easily to the name change.
Finally Checking Out of the Office
It has been a long time, but Office will soon make way for Microsoft 365’s branding. Whether the change will be well-received or not will have to be seen.