Microsoft plans to sunset its Microsoft Office branding after more than 30 years, rebranding the apps to Microsoft 365; new logos will roll out in January 2023
Microsoft is making a major change to its Microsoft Office branding. After more than 30 years, Microsoft Office is being renamed …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already been modernizing the suite’s presentation through a redesign across desktop apps and Office.com and new Office icons. The earlier Windows 10 Office app also replaced My Office while promoting the suite’s free online versions, making the brand change the next step in a broader simplification of how Microsoft presents the tools.
The naming shift matters because it aligns the apps with Microsoft 365 rather than preserving Office as a separate product identity. Later coverage refers to the software as Office apps known as Microsoft 365 apps, indicating that the terminology became the operating label for the suite.
First-order effects
- Microsoft will replace the long-standing Office name and visual identity on its productivity apps with Microsoft 365 branding beginning with the January logo rollout.
- Users of the Office suite will encounter Microsoft 365 as the primary name across the renamed apps, reducing the distinction between the application brand and Microsoft’s broader suite label.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft’s consumer-facing entry points, including the Office app that was introduced to promote online versions, can be presented under one Microsoft 365 identity rather than separate Office and Microsoft 365 labels.
- Outlook’s separate name remains an important boundary: Microsoft had previously said Outlook.com would be powered by Office 365 while retaining its name, showing that the rebrand consolidates the suite without necessarily renaming every associated service.
Third-order effects
- The move points to Microsoft organizing productivity software around a single umbrella identity, with individual apps serving as components rather than the basis of a standalone Office brand.
- If Microsoft continues pairing product migrations with brand consolidation, support and upgrade communications will increasingly use Microsoft 365 terminology, as later Windows 10 support coverage does.
The trend: Microsoft is consolidating productivity software, web access, and app identity under the Microsoft 365 umbrella rather than maintaining Office as a separate master brand.