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In this in-depth article I am going to sort out the various Office and Outlook products so you can make better choices. This article is a bit long, but if you are confused about these products and are thinking about using one or more, investing ten minutes right now to read this is worth it.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with a review of the older of the current products to put them in perspective.<\/p>\n
Office Desktop Applications<\/b><\/p>\n
First, there are the original and ongoing desktop application suites, named by their year of release. For example: Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2010, Office for Mac 2011, culminating in the current Office 2013\/16.<\/p>\n
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Since MYN works primarily with the Outlook portion of those suites, it\u2019s important to note that Outlook in the Office 2013\/16 desktop suite still provides the most functionality of all current Outlook options, and does that across the multiple Outlook modules like Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks. This type of Outlook is what most large companies use, and it\u2019s the main target for the MYN system since it has the strongest Tasks<\/i> module feature set. By the way, I\u2019ll show below how Office 2013\/16 is related to Office 365<\/i> (you\u2019ll see it\u2019s essentially the same).<\/p>\n
Exchange Server<\/b><\/p>\n
When deployed to multiple users in a company, Outlook desktop is normally used with Exchange Server as the on-corporate-premises server or cloud storage of all Outlook module data, including tasks data. Exchange Server is a separate product (it\u2019s not part<\/i> of Outlook but it\u2019s almost always used with<\/i> Outlook), and it provides easy sharing of data across multiple computers. Using Exchange is the best way to put MYN Outlook tasks into the cloud. Most Outlook users who use Exchange have access to it because their company\u2019s IT department has set it up.<\/p>\n
Outlook without Exchange<\/b><\/p>\n
Outlook desktop consumer<\/i> users with personal accounts usually use Outlook without<\/i> Exchange. When Outlook is used without Exchange, the mail data is synced with whatever Internet based mail server the user hooks up to (like Yahoo, or Gmail, or even Outlook.com). All other Outlook module data (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc.) get stored on the computer\u2019s local hard drive. That local storage is a disadvantage if you want mobile access. There are ways to sync the local data to cloud services, but none of the task syncing solutions work very well with MYN. So Outlook desktop without<\/i> Exchange is not a good solution if you want to use MYN with Outlook tasks. For those users I instead recommend using Toodledo <\/a>as your tasks solution.<\/p>\n Hosted Exchange<\/b><\/p>\n If you are a consumer user of Outlook desktop and do want to use the MYN with Outlook\u2019s task system while mobile, I recommend you sign up for a hosted Exchange Server like Microsoft Exchange Online<\/a> or GoDaddy Hosted Exchange<\/a>. Or sign up for the business version of Office 365 (described below\u2014it includes Microsoft\u2019s hosted Exchange Server). While setting up hosted Exchange isn’t super easy, once done it gives you the ability to serve Outlook tasks <\/a>to the cloud (as well as giving you more options to take your mail, calendar, and contacts mobile). And the pricing is pretty good.<\/p>\n Outlook on the Web, aka Outlook Web App (OWA)<\/b><\/p>\n Exchange Server mainly serves data to desktop versions of Outlook. But if you are traveling and don\u2019t have a laptop or desktop with Outlook desktop handy, one way to get at all your Exchange data is through Outlook on the Web (previously called Outlook Web App in older Exchange versions, and before that it was called Outlook Web Access, or OWA for short). Outlook on the Web (which I am going to continue to call OWA for this article) is a browser version of Exchange-based Outlook data (don’t confuse this with the OWA smartphone app, which is different), and it has a much-reduced feature set compared to the desktop application versions of Outlook. Because of that, I don\u2019t recommend it for using MYN tasks. It is<\/i> okay for e-mail, calendar, and so on, but there is no way to convert e-mails into tasks; another OWA disadvantage for MYN users.<\/p>\n Cloud Access to MYN Tasks on Exchange <\/b><\/p>\n Instead of OWA, Exchange MYN users who want cloud access to tasks should use other clients<\/em> that access Exchange. For example, I recommend third-party smartphone apps like TaskTask<\/a> (iOS, Windows Phone) and TouchDown<\/a> (Android). Or get a Windows 8 tablet and just launch Outlook in its desktop.<\/p>\n Outlook.com <\/b><\/p>\n Outlook.com is the free consumer-targeted replacement for HotMail that came out in early 2013. It\u2019s Microsoft\u2019s main competitor for the consumer version of Gmail. It\u2019s a browser-based, e-mail-only module. Outlook.com is not<\/i> the same as Outlook and you cannot use it to access Exchange data. But via its app bar you have links into Microsoft\u2019s other free consumer online applications: People, Calendar, and more. All this data is stored on consumer-targeted Microsoft Live servers.<\/p>\n Outlook.com is a well-designed consumer e-mail app, but access to its tasks module (there’s one in the linked Calendar) is very limited through the web browser, and so Outlook.com on a web browser is not useful as a place to manage MYN tasks.<\/p>\n That said, the tasks module in Outlook.com, if you access it through Outlook 2013\/16 desktop version, is actually pretty powerful and can be used with MYN. It can be a no-cost way to put your MYN tasks in the cloud. See this article<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n Also, like Gmail mail, Outlook.com combines well with Toodledo<\/a> for MYN. That\u2019s because 1) you can forward emails as tasks<\/a> from Outlook.com into Toodledo; and 2) its design facilitates a single-folder filing system by using Outlook.com categories<\/a>. And you\u2019ll see you can use Toodledo as your MYN tasks server<\/a> with Outlook.com and so reach a ton of mobile MYN task management options.<\/p>\n So, between using Outlook.com with Outlook 2013\/16 desktop, or using it with Toodledo, all-in-all, Outlook.com could be a very good MYN candidate.<\/p>\n The Free Office Online:<\/i><\/b> a new Consumer Office Suite<\/b><\/p>\n As part of the recent Office Online<\/i> product rollout, Microsoft renamed its previously existing Office Web Apps to Excel Online<\/i>, Word Online<\/i>, PowerPoint Online, and OneNote Online<\/i>. But Microsoft did much more. They also combined Outlook.com and OneDrive into the mix, and linked them all together at Office.com. In doing that, Microsoft has created a new, free, online consumer Office suite<\/i>. I wrote about all that here<\/a>, and you\u2019ll see in that article that I feel this is an important strategic move for Microsoft. Office Online is not<\/i> just an online version Office 365, which I\u2019ll discuss more below.<\/p>\n Of course, the versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote in Office Online come with far fewer features than the desktop versions of each in Office 2013\/16 and 365. And Outlook.com, the e-mail client in the Office Online suite, has far fewer features than desktop Outlook. You\u2019ll also find there is no good Tasks module in Office Online if you use it in its browser mode only (at least not one that works well with MYN or 1MTD), so an MYN tasks solution is not an option in Office Online unless you add an outside tasks product like Toodledo, as mentioned in the Outlook.com section above. Or unless you combine Outlook.com and Outlook 2013\/16 desktop together, also mentioned above in the Outlook.com section. Exchange Server is not an option either\u2014rather, all messaging data is stored on Microsoft Live servers with no surefire options to sync with Exchange.<\/p>\n Still, as a free and simple productivity suite, the new Office Online is a worthy option to consider. Add Toodledo to it, or Outlook 2013\/16 desktop, and you\u2019ve got yourself a complete and free cloud-based productivity suite that works well with MYN.<\/p>\n Office 365 Delivers Office 2013\/16, and More<\/b><\/p>\n So how does Office 365 fit into all this? Specifically, how is it related to the Office 2013\/16 desktop applications I described at the start of this article, and to the new Office Online?<\/p>\n First, Office 365 and Office 2013\/16 are mostly the same products. Office 365 is primarily an alternate purchase and delivery<\/i> mechanism for Office 2013\/16 applications. So, rather than buying Office 2013\/16 in a box (and perhaps getting Exchange access separately), with Office 365 you purchase a monthly or annual subscription for a certain number computers, and get access to the roughly same products. For example, with Office 365 Home Premium<\/a> you get Office 2013\/16 desktop installation rights for up to 5 computers at a pretty good price. The \u201csubscription\u201d portion of this equation also means you get, on an ongoing basis, monthly product feature updates and upgrades at no extra charge or effort\u2014they install automatically. This can be an advantage; non-subscription users (Office 2013\/16 boxed set buyers), may have to wait for a major new product release to get new features (and they\u2019d have to pay at that time).<\/p>\n Office 365 in the Cloud? Office 2013\/16 in the Cloud?<\/b><\/p>\n Many people have the impression that Office 365 is much more of a cloud product than is Office 2013\/16, and so think that is a reason to get Office 365 instead of Office 2013. And, in Microsoft\u2019s advertising, that certainly seems to be the impression they are trying to give. But in reality, Office 365 and Office 2013\/16 have the same cloud capabilities.<\/p>\n Here are six methods of cloud access the Office suites. Allare equivalent between Office 365 and Office 2013\/16.<\/p>\n Note that MYN use is no different between these two suites regarding these cloud features. In my mind, based on application features, the main reason to go with Office 365 vs. purchasing a boxed set of Office 2013\/16 is to get the ongoing feature enhancements that are automatically loaded with Office 365.<\/p>\n Does the new, free Office Online suite Give you Online Access to Office 365 Data?<\/b><\/p>\n Really, the new free Office Online suite is the most cloud enabled of the three suites. Everything<\/i> in that suite is done in the cloud\u2014in fact, only<\/i> in the cloud. But from its name and from some of the marketing material about Office 365, you might think that the Office Online suite also gives you access to all<\/i> Office 365 data, and that\u2019s not true. At least half of the data for Office Online is different and separate from Office 365 data, as I show below. So no, Office Online is not a full online solution for Office 365.<\/p>\n That said, there is<\/i> some significant sharing because all Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote data on OneDrive (old SkyDrive) is fully shared across the two suites (also true with Office 2013\/16). And the Outlook desktop application in 365 or Office 2013\/16, if set up correctly<\/a>, can see Outlook.com mail (but not visa versa). [3\/27\/2014 Update: Outlook desktop can apparently also see Live.com tasks, calendar, and people data, per comment below by Andy Gray]<\/p>\n Office 365 Business<\/i> Includes Microsoft Hosted Exchange <\/b><\/p>\n Comparing Office 365 again to Office 2013\/16, above I showed that the two suites are roughly equivalent for MYN and cloud use\u2014that the main difference is in licensing and delivery options. So are there any other<\/i> reasons to favor Office 365 over Office 2013\/16? There is one other consideration.<\/p>\n I think the main technical advantage of 365, compared to Office 2013\/16, is that with the business version of Office 365<\/a> you also get Exchange Server hosted by Microsoft. That hosting comes as an integrated package: you get it delivered with a set of online Exchange management tools that link well with the Office 365 online management tools. In other words, Exchange packages well with Office 365 when you get them together. So if you don\u2019t yet have Exchange, or you do but want to switch over to Microsoft hosting of Exchange, then the business version of Office 365 is a good way to go.<\/p>\n In contrast, Exchange is not<\/i> included with Office 2013\/16\u2014you have to provision it separately. So the Office 365 business package becomes a one-stop small business solution for companies that previously could not support an Exchange server or that want a simpler solution. And a low-end business plan for 365<\/a> even becomes a good solution for consumers<\/i> who want Outlook 2013 with the advantages of Exchange (though the initial setup can be a bit confusing\u2014it\u2019s designed for multiple users so it may feel a bit much for a single user).<\/p>\n Granted, you could assemble all of this from individual components (i.e. buy Office 2013\/16 in a box, and then sign up for hosted Exchange), but having Microsoft put this all together for you is a time and management saver.<\/p>\n One other thing. Microsoft is now licensing the entire Office 365 hosting capability to other companies. For example, GoDaddy now sells and hosts the complete Office 365 suite, including Exchange. Personally, I like the support department at GoDaddy better than the one at Microsoft, and since Exchange setup can get a bit confusing, you may appreciate that.<\/p>\n Office 365\/2013\/16 and MYN <\/b><\/p>\n The presence of Exchange in the business version of Office 365 of course means MYN tasks are fully supported in the cloud with this solution (just as they are in Office 2013\/16). But again, since OWA is not a good way to take MYN tasks beyond the desktop, you\u2019ll also want third-party smartphone apps like TaskTask<\/a> (iOS, Windows Phone) and TouchDown<\/a> (Android) to access those Exchange-based MYN tasks. Or just get a Windows tablet and launch Outlook in the desktop when you travel.<\/p>\n Conclusion, which Suite to Get?<\/b><\/p>\n Confused by all the products? Wondering which suites to focus on? Just remember this: Office Online with Outlook.com is the new, free, reduced-feature, online version of Office, mostly for consumers. In contrast, both Office 365 and Office 2013\/16 are the paid versions that include the higher-end desktop versions of Office and Outlook, and can include access to Exchange Server. Office 365 and 2013\/16 are roughly equivalent, with mostly delivery and packaging differences between them. But if you are about to get Office and hosted Exchange, you might as well get them together by getting a business version of Office 365.<\/p>\n If you want to use MYN with Outlook tasks, you should be looking at Office 365 or 2013\/16 with Exchange\u2014that\u2019s how you get the full Outlook desktop application for MYN task use, and that\u2019s how you access Exchange Server for MYN cloud use.<\/p>\n And MYN users have an option with the free Office Online. Even though Office Online has no good tasks module (other than the weak one in the linked Calendar), you can still integrate it with the powerful and free Toodledo<\/a> task product, and then use Outlook.com for e-mail and the other Office Online modules for everything else. So the new Office Online, combined with Toodledo, can<\/i> be a quite good (and entirely free) web-based MYN solution.<\/p>\n And finally, using Outlook.com with Outlook 2013\/16 desktop as described here<\/a> can give you a way to put your MYN tasks in the cloud without the hassle and expense of Exchange.<\/p>\n Michael Linenberger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mar 2, 2014 [Updated Sept 28, 2015, to include Office 2016 and other updates] With the recent release of the \u201cnew\u201d Office Online, there are now three current Office suites (the other two being Office 365 and Office 2013\/16—I am … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/michaellinenberger.com\/images\/hosted-exchange-2010.png\")
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