Microsoft Office 365: More new packages and prices coming in November
Summary: There are even more versions of Microsoft's Office 365 than we've thought. Another small-business and a mid-size business release are on deck. And here's pricing for the lot. — Mary Jo Foley
Context & Ripple Effects
Mary Jo Foley's ZDNet report lands mid-October, squarely inside Microsoft's pre-launch window: the first Surface ad ran nationally during Monday Night Football, and the Surface and Windows 8 launch hits October 26. The Office 365 news is the quieter, business-side counterpart to that consumer push — new small-business and midsize-business packages arriving in November, with pricing published for the whole lineup.
The story's pickup pattern matches its audience: Microsoft TechNet and Neowin carried it, channels read by IT administrators who need the actual SKU list and per-plan prices rather than launch-event theater. No competing commentary or rebuttal surfaced in the discussion record around publication.
First-order effects
- Small and midsize businesses evaluating Office 365 get at least two additional plan tiers in November, shifting the procurement question from whether to subscribe to which SKU fits headcount and budget.
- Publishing pricing across the entire lineup lets buyers compare plans directly against each other — and against whatever per-user deals rivals offer — instead of waiting for sales quotes.
Second-order effects
- A denser SKU matrix stacked on top of the October 26 Windows 8 and Surface launch gives IT buyers another segmentation decision to make during an already crowded Microsoft rollout season.
- Channel partners and resellers advising small businesses must now map client needs across more plan boundaries, raising the value of migration and licensing guidance in the SMB segment.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern of adding size-based tiers continues, metered per-seat subscriptions become the default frame for commercial Office purchasing, displacing one-time-license comparisons as the baseline buyers reason from.
The trend: Microsoft is slicing its cloud Office lineup into ever-finer per-seat subscription tiers aimed at distinct business sizes, making packaging granularity itself part of the product strategy.