Over the past several days, we have reviewed updated pricing and features included with each Office365 plan, from Professionals and Small Business to Enterprise (Plan P). While new prices are competitive, Microsoft is still behind Google Apps offering. Google offers its online productivity suite for $50 per user per year.

We were surprised to learn that Office365 Plan P, does not include Microsoft’s support. According to Office365 website, for Plan P, users can expect online community only support. On the website, Microsoft does not include any references to additional paid support options, but we are sure that paid support is available. For example, if you run a 50 employee business, and are in need of support, you will be at mercy of online community and won’t be able to receive support for email, docs etc. in a timely manner. If you can’t find answers to your question, too bad, accroding to Microsoft.

Google on the other hand provides 24×7 email and phone support to all customers and does not have complicated plans that need to be interpreted by a licencing professional.

Bottom line: take the time and evaluate all available options. Vendor support is extremely important when the tools you need to do your job are either unavailable or don’t perform as expected.

As always, we would appreciate your comments.

Until next time,

Steve Driz