Office 365 Portal: A basic insight into its What, Why and Where

A Brief History of Microsoft Office

The origin of Office goes back to the year 1983 when the first standalone document file editor named “Word” was launched. Later, in 1985 another standalone application named “Excel” was released for processing spreadsheets and again in 1987 a third application named “PowerPoint” was made available for creating presentations.

It was in 1990 that these three applications were clubbed together as a suite named “Microsoft Office for Windows” and the next year another application named “Mail” (which was renamed- as\replaced-by “Outlook” in 1996) was added to the suite for email interactions.

In 2011, the first version of “Office 365” was launched. Here, “365” represented “available on all 365 days of the year” since this was no longer a set of standalone applications but was now available as a cloud-based SAAS (Software As A Service) where the user can not only use it as desktop applications but also on any device directly via a web browser.

Office 365 Plans… now known as Microsoft 365 Plans

Nowadays, you will not find any plan named Office 365. Instead, Microsoft has made its office applications available under the name of Microsoft 365. These Microsoft 365 plans are made available under 2 categories:

• Microsoft 365 for Home For individuals that plan to have these apps primarily for personal usage.

• Microsoft 365 for Business For organizations that plan to have these apps for business purposes.

Here, the Home editions (Family & Personal) are primarily comprised of apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook (client), and OneDrive with additional components like Access, Defender, Editor, Clipchamp, etc. While the Business editions (Basic, Standard, Premium, etc.) come with an even larger collection of apps like SharePoint, Exchange, Teams (for Business), Azure Information Protection, etc.

Other than these, plans are also available for Microsoft 365 Apps for businesses like Project, Visio, etc., and even wider options are available where Windows (operating system), Power Platform (Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, etc.) and other enterprise apps like Dynamics 365, etc. are available.

What is the Office 365 Portal?

Office 365 (Microsoft 365) is a collection of web-based applications, Microsoft has provided a unified common entry point for a subscribed user to access his\her office applications. This not only adds to an improved user experience, but also provides a virtual workspace for the user to have a better insight into different areas from a single viewpoint.

Whether you are a Home User or a Business User, just navigate to the office.com URL using any web browser and log in with your user credentials and you will be redirected to your Office 365 Portal.

On login, the features\modules\apps made available on the browser vary based on the subscription taken. However, the layout of its home page is universal where a quick select menu is available for navigating to a particular Office 365 \ Microsoft 365 app using the left vertical menu and searching across your profile (for individual users) or organization (for business users), manage your profile settings, etc. using the top horizontal menu.

Also, the home page gives a list of recommended and recently created\opened\edited files.

The image given below shows the home page layout for Office 365 Portal, however, it is worth mentioning that this is the standard layout that can be altered\customized for every organization and individual home or business user based on their preferences where a user can choose to change the colour\theme, display language, list of application shortcuts appearing in the left navigation menu, etc:

Also Read: How to Create Custom Emails Signature in Dynamics CRM

Key Benefits of Office 365 Portal

1. Accessibility and Mobility

Users can access Office 365 from any location with an internet connection, enabling seamless productivity whether in the office, at home, or on the go via mobile devices.

2. Collaboration and Communication

Office 365 facilitates real-time collaboration and communication through tools like Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook, allowing teams to work together efficiently regardless of physical proximity.

3. Security and Compliance

With high-security features such as data encryption, threat detection, and compliance tools, Office 365 helps safeguard sensitive information and ensure regulatory compliance.

4. Productivity and Efficiency

The suite of Office 365 applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, enables users to create, edit, and share documents easily, simplifying workflow and boosting productivity.

5. Scalability and Cost-effectiveness

Office 365 offers scalable subscription plans that cater to businesses of all sizes, eliminating the need for upfront investment in software licenses and providing predictable costs, making it a cost-effective solution.

Why is Office 365 Portal Used?

As mentioned above, Office 365 Portal is for everyone. Whether you are an individual home user, a student, a business user or an organization IT administrator, Office 365 Portal is your entry point to all Microsoft 365 \ Office 365 apps.

How to log in to Office 365 Portal?

[Note: Typically, office.com works well on the latest versions of all modern web browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc. but it seems to work best with Microsoft Edge browser]

Step 1: For logging onto Office 365 Portal, open your preferred web browser and navigate to the office.com URL.

Step 2: If you are not already logged in, the browser will auto-redirect to the MicrosoftOnline.com login page (as shown in the given image).

Step 3: Here, insert the registered user ID which can be your registered email address or phone number.

Step 4: Now click Next and then insert the login password.

Note: If you have 2-factor authentication enabled for your account, then authorize the login session using the configured phone number (via Call or Text Message), or via the Microsoft Authentication App.

Tip: If you are using a secure device, you can select the “Don’t Ask for Next 30 Days” checkbox to avoid needing to log in every time.

How does Office 365 Portal Help?

For Home Users

For individuals using the Home edition, Office 365 Portal not only simplifies access to their subscribed office applications and files but also makes it easy to collaborate with other individuals and groups by having the option to share files with other Office 365 users.

One of the awesome features of Office 365 is collaborative working on files. In the old collaboration model, people would first create a file and then share its copy via email attachment etc. With their counterparts to review\modify and then reshare the edited version back to the original author which resulted in the creation of multiple versions of the same file. But with Microsoft 365, people located in different geographies and not only work on the same file concurrently through their own Office 365 portals but can even put real-time reviews\comments on the same document simultaneously.

For Business Users

People working for organizations\groups not only get the features mentioned above for Home Users but also additional capabilities and a deeper level of security through the Office 365 Portal.

Another great feature of Office 365 Portal is it provides an Admin Center for organizations’ administrative users from which they can execute all administrative functions like User Account Management, Organization Level Security Settings, Branding, etc.

Key Takeaways: Office 365 Portal

Are you ready to experience the power of Office 365 or Microsoft 365? Whether you use it for your personal needs or for your business, this suite of apps is packed with features that will revolutionize the way you live and work. From students to business users, everyone can benefit from the convenience and efficiency of this cloud-based SAAS. With easy access from any device, anywhere, even those with limited technical skills can take advantage of this game-changing platform.

Stay tuned with us at Soluzione for more about the Office 365 portal because we’re here to help your business thrive and expand like never before!

Below are a few blogs that can help you know more about Office 365 Portal:

• Dynamics 365 Works Best with Office 365

• What is Dynamics Portal and Why you should have it?

• Dynamics 365 Web Portals

• 5 Best Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM Marketing Automation Tools

• Accounting Software Integration with Dynamics 365 CRM

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise to Online Migration

Frequently Asked Questions About Office 365 Portal