Everything that seems traditional was radical at some point in the past. When it first launched Office 365, critics and tech audiences blasted Microsoft’s moves into the space. They said no one would be comfortable renting software. Microsoft is entering 2017 by proving these people wrong. In an earnings report released in January 2017, Microsoft Office 365 has amassed a staggering user base of 25 million users.
You may not know what Office 365 is, but you probably know what it gives you access to. Office 365 Personal and Business subscriptions give you access to Microsoft’s Office productivity apps. The full version of Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft OneNote is included with every subscription. Also included are helpful subscriptions designed to make your life easier. There’s also OneDrive cloud storage and Skype credit. Because Office 365 is paid monthly, users can continue to subscribe when they need it and unsubscribe when they don’t.
The process of installing Office 365 has probably contributed greatly to the growing success of Office 365 subscriptions. Getting started with a subscription service is incredibly easy.
Here’s how to set up Office 365 Personal on your laptop, desktop, or tablet and start using the service right away.
Office 365 Setup: Office 365 Costs and Office 365 Free Trial
Again, Office 365 is a subscription service, not just a video or music streaming service. By offering access to productivity apps in this way, Microsoft is trying to eliminate the real reason why anyone on Windows is hesitant to use Office: the price. A traditional pay-only version of Office 2016, Office 2016 Home & Student is $149.99 for a single computer only.
By comparison, Office 365 Personal starts at $6.99. $9.99 lets users install Office on five different computers. Microsoft also offers a $99.99 a year subscription, but the key to Office 365 Personal is its truly no-commitment approach. Paying monthly is only $20 more expensive, but you’re not locked in to keep it.
As long as you have an Office 365 subscription, you will be able to continue to use Office programs and Office applications available in the Windows Store, iTunes Store, and Google Play Store. When you decide to leave, your documents and files stay exactly where they are, but you can’t edit them unless you reactivate your subscription or purchase a traditional copy of Office 2016. It’s also worth mentioning that you always have the latest version. Office with an Office 365 subscription. Major upgrades are available at no extra cost as they become available.
Fortunately, Microsoft has a free trial of Office 365. This trial gives you access to everything the service has to offer for those who pay for it. The perfect way to decide if an Office 365 subscription is right for you and your needs.
Office 365 Setup: What You Need
Setting up with Office 365 requires a few things. You will need a Microsoft Account for one. This is the account you created when you set up an Xbox One or set up an Outlook.com email account. It’s also used in countless other Microsoft products. You’re in luck and it ends with a @hotmail, @live, or @outlook domain.
You will also want Microsoft Accounts for each person you intend to add to your subscription. Note that you can supply up to five users with a $9.99 subscription.
Office 365 Setup: Getting Started with Office 365
Just one download separates you from Office 365 and the free trial. In fact, some users will not have to worry about downloading at all.
Every laptop, desktop, or tablet with Windows 10 has something called the Get Office app. Find Get Office in the Start menu or in your list of installed apps on the Start Screen.
If you don’t see the Get Office application or you’re running an older version of Windows, search for any of the Microsoft Office applications installed on your computer. Microsoft works directly with Dell, Lenovo, and others to install programs by default. If there are, open them and you’ll be taken to a wizard that lets you sign up for a free trial.
Finally, if none of these other efforts work, you can start the process right now. Microsoft Office 365 website. There you can start the free trial and download the necessary software to start using your new subscription.
Once you have the burning software, you must provide the credit card information to Microsoft so that it bills you after the free trial. Good luck with the Office 365 setup.