What does Microsoft Office include?

Everyone knows and uses at least one application of Microsoft Office. For instance, Microsoft Word is used for typing and creating written documents. Microsoft PowerPoint is used to make presentations. Microsoft Outlook is used to keep yourself organized and manage dates and emails. These are the most common ones for sure, but Microsoft Office actually has a total of 9 applications.

Of course, the needs differ from one user to another, which is why Microsoft Office offers the apps in the form of suites. One for home, another for students, one for schools or business owners, etc. And the pricing depends on each suite.

The fact that we know the apps of Microsoft Office are essential for any work makes us curious to know more about their different uses. You too? Lucky for you, you will find all the needed information in this article, so keep reading until the end!

 

History of Microsoft Office

To sum up Microsoft Office’s history, we will talk about the evolution of their apps in the three different ways it has been delivered to the users over the years.

For the very first versions, people had to buy them in stores or via mail, and they had to download them using a disk that contained the software. People back then had workstations, so disc drives were pretty common.

After that, the purchase of Microsoft Office was made online. Entering your info and paying for it online allowed you to have a license key and benefit from the software and its features.

The third one, the one we are all familiar with today, is the one through the cloud where everything is done on the internet, and no downloading is required.

It is very remarkable that Microsoft Office has kept its value since 1988 while keeping on improving its features all along. It might have changed a little bit these last few years as Amazon Web Services are now handling most cloud services.

But the apps just keep being upgraded. For example, you can now use Microsoft Office with extra plug-ins or even work with it on your phone.

 

Who uses Microsoft Office?

The answer is pretty obvious: Everyone. In the whole wide world. But who uses it in particular? 

Microsoft Word is probably the most used application of Microsoft’s Suites. Why? Because when getting a new laptop, it often comes with free writing applications, such as WordPad, and we don’t know if you ever tried that one, but it is a real struggle. Installing Word comes then naturally to replace it, as it offers more features and advantages.

When it comes to large businesses, they use Microsoft Office more professionally, as their suite contains apps to manage the users’ databases, calculate spreadsheets, create appealing and attractive designs, etc.

 

What devices support Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office can be used on both Windows and Mac, whether you have a laptop or a workstation. This goes without saying that the best use of Microsoft Office is on a computer. 

You can also use the apps on your iPhone or iPad, as you can easily download them from the App Store. The apps are also available on Google Play for Android users.

But even though it works on them, it won’t perform optimally, and you won’t be able to use all of its functionalities.

 

What does Microsoft Office include?

As we said above, the apps you get depend on what suite you are purchasing. We will talk about the Home & Business Suite as it is the common one to be used. This one includes:

• Microsoft Word: to write documents, publications, articles, etc.
• Microsoft Excel: to manipulate data and organize it thanks to mathematical formulas and more.
• Microsoft PowerPoint: to create presentations and slideshows by manipulating different elements (text, graphs, etc.)
• Microsoft OneNote: to save all of your notes, written ones, but also screenshots, audio clips, and more.
• Microsoft Outlook: to keep all of your emails, contacts, and calendars well-organized.

Concerning the other apps added to the Professional Suite, we have:

• Microsoft Publisher: to create semi-professional digital documents (flyers, brochures, etc.)
• Microsoft Access: to organize data but in large amounts.

We also have two apps only available through volume licensing:

• Microsoft InfoPath: to create, distribute, and fill out electronic forms.  
• Microsoft Lync: to send instant messages when used with specific servers.

 

Since every suite has multiple apps, you can guess that they are meant to be used simultaneously, so you can only imagine how many functionalities they will have once combined.

 

Benefits of using Microsoft Office (For businesses)

 

All Microsoft Office applications are user-friendly and can be learned very quickly. They also give you the ability to ask any question in the help tab if you struggle with a particular task. Not to mention the countless tutorials online that will guide you step by step.

Using Microsoft Office allows you to communicate more efficiently with your team members. You can easily send them emails via Outlook, create instructive presentations on PowerPoint, and keep the communication with your team in balance to boost their performance. 

Microsoft Office will enable you to organize your large amounts of data within a few minutes. Not to mention that its analytic tools will help you learn about new patterns and therefore make more powerful financial decisions. Not wasting time doing basic tasks and focusing on more important things will eventually enhance your team’s productivity.

 

So, if you are a business owner, you know that you need the Microsoft Office Business Suite to help you thrive and reach success. 

Even if you are not, Microsoft’s applications have become an essential part of our lives, and most of us use them daily. What do you think we are using to write this article? Microsoft Word indeed.

We hope you enjoyed learning more about the different apps of Microsoft Office. Feel free to ask us for more details about any application you are interested in.