Microsoft 365 Fundamental is a brand new $1.99 a month subscription with 100GB of storage and extra

Microsoft is introducing a brand new client tier to its Microsoft 365 subscription choices. Priced at simply $1.99 monthly, Microsoft 365 Fundamental is designed to switch the 100GB OneDrive storage possibility with some further options that sit in between the free possibility and the $6.99 a month Private subscription.

Microsoft 365 Fundamental might be out there worldwide on January thirtieth with 100GB of cloud storage, an ad-free Outlook internet and cell expertise, and enhanced safety features. The safety features embrace knowledge encryption for an Outlook mailbox, suspicious hyperlink checking, and virus / malware scanning for attachments. Current OneDrive 100GB storage prospects might be mechanically upgraded to Microsoft 365 Fundamental on the similar $1.99 month-to-month charge.

“Later this 12 months, we’ll have a bunch of stuff with OneDrive superior safety that might be out there as effectively, that features Personal Vault, password-protected and expiring hyperlinks, ransomware detection and restoration, and bulk file restore,” says Gareth Oystryk, director of product advertising and marketing for Microsoft 365, in an interview with The Verge.

Microsoft 365 Fundamental will even embrace entry to Microsoft technical assist, which incorporates assist over the cellphone or by way of on-line chat for each Microsoft 365 apps and Home windows 11. The principle distinction between the $6.99 Private subscription and this new $1.99 Fundamental one (apart from the quantity of cloud storage) is that Microsoft 365 Fundamental doesn’t embrace entry to the desktop variations of Phrase, Excel, and PowerPoint apps. Fundamental subscribers should use the online or cell variations as an alternative.

“We all know many individuals are utilizing our providers immediately, however a few of them run out of storage or need extra advantages that you just don’t get with the free Microsoft 365 expertise,” says Oystryk. “We additionally designed this particularly with Home windows customers in thoughts.” The Microsoft 365 Fundamental bundle is aimed toward Home windows customers that want further storage but in addition appears like Microsoft’s method of familiarizing folks with its productiveness subscriptions.

Microsoft can also be renaming its Workplace app on cell and Home windows to Microsoft 365 later this month. It displays the branding modifications Microsoft introduced final 12 months, the place Microsoft Office will largely be referred to as Microsoft 365 going ahead. “Is the Workplace model going away solely? No,” explains Oystryk. “We’ve actually invested loads in Microsoft 365 and it’s actually grow to be our flagship productiveness suite, so Workplace performs much less of a task on condition that’s the place our focus is. You’ll nonetheless see Workplace present up in sure contexts. It’s extra of a shift in focus the place we’re doubling down on Microsoft 365 as our productiveness suite, and we wish folks, after they consider productiveness, to consider Microsoft 365 and never Workplace.”

Later this month will even mark 10 years since Microsoft first launched client subscriptions for Workplace. Identified again then as Workplace 365 House Premium, the plan included entry to Workplace desktop apps and 20GB of cloud storage. That’s been elevated to 1TB of cloud storage as of late, alongside a bunch of options added to the subscription.

“One factor hasn’t modified over the past 10 years: the value,” writes Microsoft vp Liat Ben-Zur in a weblog put up. “Microsoft 365 Private and Household nonetheless price solely $6.99 and $9.99 monthly, respectively.” Whereas inflation and prices have been pushing up different subscription providers over the previous decade, Microsoft says it doesn’t have any quick plans to lift Microsoft 365 costs, however Oystryk doesn’t rule it out for the longer term.