Microsoft unveils new on-premises extensions to Azure and bundled offerings around Office 365

USA: Microsoft at its partner conference in Washington, D.C. has announced two new offerings for Azure and Office 365 customers- Azure Stack service and Microsoft 365.

Azure Stack is an extension of Azure to bring the innovations of cloud computing to on-premises environments. It can be used by businesses with operations in remote locations such as mine shaft, ship, where connectivity can be an issue. The shipment of Azure stack integrated systems will start in September from Dell EMC, HPE, and Lenovo.

Keeping the commercial needs from the largest enterprise as well as the smallest business in mind, Microsoft has released two different offerings- Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 Business. While 365 Enterprise will be available for purchase on August 1, 2017, 365 Business will be available in public preview on August 2, 2017. 365 Business will be available from the end of September, 2017.

"The workplace is transforming—from changing employee expectations, to more diverse and globally distributed teams, to an increasingly complex threat landscape. From these trends, we are seeing a new culture of work emerging. Our customers are telling us they are looking to empower their people with innovative technology to embrace this modern culture of work," wrote Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for the Office team in a Microsoft official blog.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise is designed for large organizations and integrates Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise and Enterprise Mobility + Security to empower employees to be creative and work together, securely.

Besides giving people flexibility and choice in how they connect, share and communicate with a set of apps and services, it enables people to work naturally with ink, voice and touch, backed by tools that utilize AI and machine learning. It has also simplifies IT by unifying management across users, devices, apps and services.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise is offered in two plans, Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5.

Microsoft 365 Business is designed for small-to medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users and integrates Office 365 Business Premium with tailored security and management features from Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security.

It is designed to help companies to better connect with employees, customers and suppliers and also simplifies the set-up and management of employee devices and services with a single IT console.

Microsoft has also announced the preview of three tailored applications -Microsoft Connections(email marketing service), Microsoft Listings and Microsoft Invoicing as well as Microsoft’s mileage tracking app, MileIQ that are coming to Office 365 Business Premium and Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Business is priced at US $20 per user, per month.