Notebookcheck Logo

Microsoft drops the "Online" from Office Online

Microsoft PowerPoint online with updated header (Source: Microsoft Tech Community)
Microsoft PowerPoint online with updated header (Source: Microsoft Tech Community)
Since many major software suites are slowly moving to an online-only approach, it is not a big surprise that Microsoft has decided to rename its Office Online suite by removing the "Online" part. However, the branding change does not apply to the following server products: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Project Online, and Office Online Server.

In many cases, adding "online" or "for the web" to the name of a software product is redundant, so Microsoft's decision to rename its office suite according to this logic is not surprising. However, a few server-oriented products get to keep their existing names, to be more specific Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Project Online, and Office Online Server. 

According to Microsoft's Bill Doll, "Office uses sub-brands to denote our offerings such as Office 365 and Office 2019. Because our offerings have evolved to provide access to apps on more than one platform, it no longer makes sense to use any platform-specific sub-brands."

Since the suite previously known as "Office Online" is now just "Office," its elements are now facing the same fate, so "Word Online" is now "Word" and so on. However, in some cases, the suite will be referred to as "Office for the web" to follow the same naming approach used when it comes to platforms, such as "Office for Windows" and "Office for Android." On the other hand, this is not a strict naming convention or a brand name, so other terms might be used as well, including "...on the web" or "...in a browser."

What is your favorite web-based office suite? Is there anything else worthy of our attention after taking Microsoft and Google out of the picture?

static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Codrut Nistor, 2019-07-26 (Update: 2019-07-26)