Microsoft Office 365 vs Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft has introduced two similar products that seem to be competing against each other, but they haven’t spent much time explaining to consumers what makes these two products different, and what the limitations of each product are. For offices and small businesses debating about which product to buy, understanding what each product can- and more importantly, can’t- do for your company is vital. To help explain the differences in each product, first you need to understand what each one is designed to do:

• Microsoft Office 365 is the name for a set of commercial software products offered by Microsoft that includes all of the Microsoft Office programs and hosted Microsoft Server products which are delivered and accessed through the internet. Some reviewers consider Microsoft Office 365 to be the next version of previous entry “Business Productivity Online Suite” (BPOS). Microsoft Office 365 is sold in two versions, one with 25 licenses, and one for larger operations.
• Microsoft SharePoint is designed to be a replacement for a number of web applications and is particularly suited for web content and document management. SharePoint offers users the ability to manage websites, files, social networking tools, and third-party solutions as well as operating as a web application and development tool. The system is highly scalable, allowing numerous organizations to operate from a single group of servers. The basic tool is free, and premium versions with additional integration and functions are sold separately.
• While Microsoft Office 365 is certainly a welcome addition from world leader Microsoft, there are a number of limitations to the software that business owners should consider. The major consideration for small to medium size companies is the cost- the basic version of SharePoint is free, while Office 365 commands a significant price. If cost is not a consideration, there are still a few points to consider:
• SharePoint offers business connectivity and business data connectivity services, which are not offered through Microsoft Office 365.
• SharePoint is able to export external lists, which is useful for businesses that are planning to port data from one server to another or who want to analyze information collected from their websites using another program.
• SharePoint offers a Secure Store Service in their upgraded versions, something that is not offered at all through Microsoft Office 365.
  Additionally, there has been significant development effort for Microsoft SharePoint apps that has not yet taken place for Microsoft Office 365. Since SharePoint is offered as part of the Cloud, a number of developers- most notably Google- have developed applications designed to work within SharePoint. Another highly valuable feature of SharePoint is its scalability- you are able to use servers located within the Cloud, or you can use your on-site server farm.

In terms of IT support requirements, SharePoint allows you to keep your people more focused on development and expansion of your business instead of server maintenance. While Microsoft Office 365 offers a number of great features, the cost of the software is largely due to the inclusion of the Microsoft Office suite, a feature that most businesses have already incurred. Before you invest in Microsoft Office 365, consider working with SharePoint to find out how much more it can offer you at a lower cost.