Microsoft 365 Family is the new name of the famous “office” for end-users. Those who work in IT may know that a few months ago, Microsoft changed the names of its 365 products. That’s the reason for the change also for the personal product line. Apart from changing the name, let’s see if it is worth spending money on it.

Microsoft 365 Family
Microsoft 365 Family

Microsoft 365 Family – a cloud for everyone

The first question immediately comes up: why should I pay for the office? I can have other solutions, such as Google Docs, for free. Let’s start with the most important reasons:

  • whether someone likes it or not, office from Microsoft is now a synonym for an office suite. I don’t think there is a person who hasn’t heard about Word
  • one subscription gives us the opportunity to grant access to 6 people now – this is the most important in all of this
  • each person gets 1 TB of OneDrive storage
  • We have Outlook for PC, phone, Macbook – the most important application for me 🙂
  • Outlook as an e-mail service allows us to create aliases. An especially useful feature, which I will write about in an more post
  • Access to premium content such as PowerPoint templates
  • Ability to share documents and files with outsiders

If you want to find more, please visit this link.

OneDrive key options

I’ve never understood people with several cloud drives and a pile of stuff they will never look at again. And I know what I’m talking about because I used to do it myself. Like links to articles, I was about to read. Exactly :). Now, OneDrive in Microsoft 365 Family is the only application of this type that I use. As for me, it has absolutely everything I need for happiness. There is also a free version, but it doesn’t make much sense in the long run. What options does OneDrive provide to us ?

  • 1 TB of data space
  • Files on demand
  • Personal magazine
  • Automatic folder backup: my documents, desktop, and photos

Office online

It is worth mentioning that every Microsoft 365 Family application has a browser version. And maybe they don’t have all the components; they are full-fledged products. And sometimes they give us extra options. Do you know, for example, that PowerPoint online can be presented live? That’s a cool thing. Or if you share an Excel file with other people, several people can work on the file simultaneously? There are a few more such gems, but this is more of a topic for the next post.

And of course, I can’t forget the To-Do app. Some time ago, I wrote that I use Getting Things Done (GTD) to manage my time. For several months, To-Do has been my primary tool. Next to the Outlook calendar, for scheduling time and managing tasks. The application is straightforward, not to say trivial. But, it has everything I need for me. I would highly recommend it!

Tools for freelancers

Most of you know that I have been working as a freelancer for a longer time and I think I am good at it. Personally, there is no need to save on tools that will increase our productivity. I have already written about the benefits of Vmware workstation. Microsoft 365 Family is an essential tool without which I cannot imagine working as a freelancer.