Question about cloud usage-MS Office 365

[Thump553]

I have a small, single person business and use Office 2007. Please don't laugh, I only need it for Word, occasional use of Excel and Outlook. Outlook is basically the main reason I use MS Office at all-my calendar, tasks, etc. are all based on it.

I'm thinking of going to Office 365 IF I can set it up so that the only thing that uses the cloud is Outlook. I'd love to have my calendar, tasks, etc. synced between the 2-3 computers I use automatically. I do not in any event want my work product stored in the cloud-that is a deal killer for me.

Can Office 365 be set up to meet my needs without jumping through a lot of hoops?

 

[mikeymikec]

I think there's two versions of Office 365. The main one I encounter is only different from Office 2013/2016 in one respect, being that the user rents it, it's still a standalone app.

I think there's also a web-based MS Office which may also be called 365.

 

[Mushkins]

What do you mean by your data stored in "the cloud" exactly? What's the business concern? O365 has little to do with where you store your data, that's up to your own network configuration. We use Office 365 in a HIPAA regulated environment and have 100% control of our data as well as the local install versions of all of the Office apps.

Compare the O365 plans and pick the one that meets your needs (probably the lowest plan that includes local installs of Office if you're concerned about cloud storage). You don't need to use the hosted exchange email accounts that come with them, if you have a separate mail service you can still use that like you do with your current setup.

 

[Thump553]

Thanks Mushkins I think you have answered my questions. I'm a solo office, non-computer professional that knows enough about computers to be dangerous. I have a real simple stable system now. The main reason I'd like to go to some version of O365 is to be able to painlessly share my Outlook data across several computers.

 

[blurredvision]

The first thing you need to figure out is what exactly do you need. There are a dozen different Office 365 plans. Given your explanation, you're only wanting to move to an Exchange mailbox, which is perfect for your wants of using multiple devices. The cheapest non-business plan for this is $4/month, the "Exchange Online Plan 1".

However, it should be noted that Office 365 does NOT support Outlook 2007 and is likely not to work. You will need at least Office 2010 SP2 but my recommendation is to move to at least Office 2013. With that in mind, you should consider if buying a stand-alone perpetual license is ideal or if you would want to move into a more expensive monthly Office 365 plan that includes the Office suite.

EDIT: Also, if moving to Office 365, there is some setup involved to link it to your domain name as well as configuring the proper DNS records (which can be automated for you if your DNS host is a popular service). Then you have to consider moving all your current email to the new system. All very easy tasks, but only if you know what you're doing.

 

[Puffnstuff]

In office 365 you have to set it up and it has a file upload task icon in the task icon area. I use it and I currently have 1tb of online storage although I'd never use that much for office files of any kind.