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Microsoft (MSFT) 365 is Adding a New $1.99/Month Basic Tier
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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) is celebrating 10 full years of Microsoft 365 by adding a new Microsoft 365 tier: Microsoft 365 Basic, a new low-end subscription tier designed to cater to existing OneDrive subscribers.
Microsoft 365 Basic will cost $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year, and it includes 100 GB of OneDrive cloud storage, removes ads from the Outlook web and mobile clients. Microsoft also offers enhanced security features in Outlook under the plan. These features include data encryption for the mailbox, malware scanning and more.
Microsoft highlighted that Microsoft 365 Basic subscribers will get access to the web-based Office apps. Users will also be able to contact support for Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 via phone and online chat. However, it doesn’t include the Office desktop apps already available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.
Furthermore, the plan will give users access to Microsoft’s technical support. Users can chat with Microsoft support staff over phone or online regarding any issues with Windows 11 or Microsoft 365 apps.
Microsoft 365 Basic will replace Microsoft’s 100 GB OneDrive plan on Jan 30. The company will automatically upgrade all subscribers of its standalone OneDrive plan to Microsoft 365 Basic. However, this change will not impact Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family plans.
Lastly, Microsoft announced that its new Microsoft 365 app is now available for web users. The app replaces the existing office.com portal and it will begin rolling out to Windows, iOS and Android users at the end of this month.
Other Upgrades to Streamline Workflow and Processes
Microsoft has been consistently updating its software offerings to aid enterprises with the regular workflow. Strong adoption of Microsoft 365 is expected to aid top-line growth in the near term.
In third-quarter fiscal 2022, Office Consumer products and cloud services revenues rose 7% (up 11% at cc), driven by growth in Microsoft 365 consumer subscription revenues. Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers totaled 61.3 million, up 13% year over year.
Microsoft Teams, Lists and Forms have been given various updates aimed to streamline processes. Last month, Microsoft Excel announced a handful of changes that are set to make formulas easier to use and even more powerful. The spreadsheet software updates are centered around web users, which cover all Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) users, even those without access to the full desktop clients.
It now plans to introduce a new premium version of the Teams chat and conferencing app that will generate summaries of meetings with chapters and personalized highlights. This will eliminate workers’ fear of missing out about important discussions and allow them to skip meetings they don’t need to attend and catch up later.
In the first half of 2023, Cisco (CSCO - Free Report) and Microsoft will offer the ability to run Microsoft Teams natively on Cisco Room and Desk devices Certified for Microsoft Teams with the option of Teams as the default experience. Cisco will become a partner in the Certified for Microsoft Teams program for the first time.
Another significant collaboration of Microsoft was closed with Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) , where Microsoft Teams will integrate with Meta’s Quest devices and provide a way to stream Windows apps to Meta’s Quest Pro VR headsets. This will let Microsoft expand its reach to Meta’s large audience.
However, the company faces stiff competition from Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Meet which rolled out an account-switching feature for users with multiple accounts on their devices, making it more convenient. Further, it also updated Meet with a default link handling capability, so that meeting links open on the new Google Meet app instead of Meet (Original).
Microsoft, which currently has Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has lost 22.6% of its share price in the last year compared with Alphabet, which declined 34% in the same time frame. Zacks Computer & Technology Sector was down 30.4%.
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Microsoft (MSFT) 365 is Adding a New $1.99/Month Basic Tier
Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) is celebrating 10 full years of Microsoft 365 by adding a new Microsoft 365 tier: Microsoft 365 Basic, a new low-end subscription tier designed to cater to existing OneDrive subscribers.
Microsoft 365 Basic will cost $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year, and it includes 100 GB of OneDrive cloud storage, removes ads from the Outlook web and mobile clients. Microsoft also offers enhanced security features in Outlook under the plan. These features include data encryption for the mailbox, malware scanning and more.
Microsoft highlighted that Microsoft 365 Basic subscribers will get access to the web-based Office apps. Users will also be able to contact support for Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 via phone and online chat. However, it doesn’t include the Office desktop apps already available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.
Furthermore, the plan will give users access to Microsoft’s technical support. Users can chat with Microsoft support staff over phone or online regarding any issues with Windows 11 or Microsoft 365 apps.
Microsoft 365 Basic will replace Microsoft’s 100 GB OneDrive plan on Jan 30. The company will automatically upgrade all subscribers of its standalone OneDrive plan to Microsoft 365 Basic. However, this change will not impact Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family plans.
Lastly, Microsoft announced that its new Microsoft 365 app is now available for web users. The app replaces the existing office.com portal and it will begin rolling out to Windows, iOS and Android users at the end of this month.
Microsoft Corporation Price and Consensus
Microsoft Corporation price-consensus-chart | Microsoft Corporation Quote
Other Upgrades to Streamline Workflow and Processes
Microsoft has been consistently updating its software offerings to aid enterprises with the regular workflow. Strong adoption of Microsoft 365 is expected to aid top-line growth in the near term.
In third-quarter fiscal 2022, Office Consumer products and cloud services revenues rose 7% (up 11% at cc), driven by growth in Microsoft 365 consumer subscription revenues. Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers totaled 61.3 million, up 13% year over year.
Microsoft Teams, Lists and Forms have been given various updates aimed to streamline processes. Last month, Microsoft Excel announced a handful of changes that are set to make formulas easier to use and even more powerful. The spreadsheet software updates are centered around web users, which cover all Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) users, even those without access to the full desktop clients.
It now plans to introduce a new premium version of the Teams chat and conferencing app that will generate summaries of meetings with chapters and personalized highlights. This will eliminate workers’ fear of missing out about important discussions and allow them to skip meetings they don’t need to attend and catch up later.
In the first half of 2023, Cisco (CSCO - Free Report) and Microsoft will offer the ability to run Microsoft Teams natively on Cisco Room and Desk devices Certified for Microsoft Teams with the option of Teams as the default experience. Cisco will become a partner in the Certified for Microsoft Teams program for the first time.
Another significant collaboration of Microsoft was closed with Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) , where Microsoft Teams will integrate with Meta’s Quest devices and provide a way to stream Windows apps to Meta’s Quest Pro VR headsets. This will let Microsoft expand its reach to Meta’s large audience.
However, the company faces stiff competition from Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Meet which rolled out an account-switching feature for users with multiple accounts on their devices, making it more convenient. Further, it also updated Meet with a default link handling capability, so that meeting links open on the new Google Meet app instead of Meet (Original).
Microsoft, which currently has Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has lost 22.6% of its share price in the last year compared with Alphabet, which declined 34% in the same time frame. Zacks Computer & Technology Sector was down 30.4%.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.