Office 365 ProPlus Versus Office 2016 Professional Plus

Technology and licensing trade-offs will affect the choice between the Office 365 ProPlus and Office 2016 Professional Plus suites. Office 365 ProPlus is an Office suite bought on a User Subscription License (SL) basis, often in Office 365 suites with additional online services, while Office 2016 Professional Plus is usually bought as a Per-Device perpetual license. The suites offer trade-offs in license compliance, license cost, compatibility with add-ins and other kinds of customizations, and control over configuration, deployment, and updating. Microsoft is promoting Office 365 ProPlus, but organizations need to strike their own balance between licensing benefits and technology investment.

What Are the Suites?

For end users, Office 365 ProPlus and Office 2016 Professional Plus are very similar Office suites. On Windows, they deliver the same applications, and each application offers similar capabilities to end users:

• Word (document creation)
• Excel (spreadsheet)
• PowerPoint