Earlier quoted context omitted.
Install LibreOffice.
Not the same feature set at all. And doesn't LibreOffice still have decade+ long issues on anything that isn't strictly word processing?
You can still open them. More than I can say for Office.
Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
461–470 of 593 posts
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#462Earlier quoted context omitted.
To reiterate a crucial point in this comment, replacing the Office apps is the least of the issues. Enterpise customers rely on 365 for identity management, endpoint protection, business intelligence and a whole bunch of other stuff that the average user pays no attention to. We aren't talking about replacing an office suite, but an entire model of IT infrastructure management.
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I think it's just that HN audiences is generally detached from the harsh reality of the "money people" who make these purchasing choices and are generally choosing the safe low friction option, that lets the business free to focus on product development and sales that are the core of business, rather than wasting resources on building and managing IT infra from FOSS scratch for the sake of avoiding $BIG_TECH.
If your business is making and selling a new type of energy drink or gluten free bread, you're not gonna bat an eye on going all-in on Microsoft Office 365 and Azure for your IT infra so you can focus on the product.
Same story on how even software-first companies like Google just default to using SAP for ERP and be done with it instead of trying to write their own solution for no benefit even if they technically could, why bother when they can just focus on doing what they know best, getting you to click on ads, and outsource the annoying boring part of the megacorp business to SAP.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#463Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? What feature does office 365 have that is so difficult to replace? I'm guessing support but... is there something more obvious? Full disclosure, I haven't used microsoft office in a few decades.
"Full disclosure, I haven't used microsoft office in a few decades." and thats the problem, the fair comparison would be like You replace AWS with hetzner vps
So its a good idea :)
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#464Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s plenty of developer talent. You don’t see microsoft office competitors because it’s a bad business to start. “Remake microsoft office suite, but cheaper” won’t work. I’m sure dozens of people have tried.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPS_Office 500 million users. Just because you haven't heard it doesn't mean an alternative doesn't exist.
It's not going to be a valid alternative in the west - certainly not something any government would even consider.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#465Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s plenty of developer talent. You don’t see microsoft office competitors because it’s a bad business to start. “Remake microsoft office suite, but cheaper” won’t work. I’m sure dozens of people have tried.
There's a bunch of competitors to MS Office already: Libre/OpenOffice, Google Docs, Collabora, etc. Some of these are totally free to use, some open-source too. Have people switched en masse to them? Nope. Personally, I think MS needs to massively increase their prices here: they're leaving a lot of money on the table. Companies, especially, (and governments) just aren't going to switch, no matter what. So why not in…
As chiii already pointed out, you are looking at the wrong end of the spectrum.
Decision in Enterprise organizations are not done by the end user and non of your options, not even Google Docs, offers the equality of features.
M365 is far more than just Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams (apart from some apps depending on the M365 tier you are in like Access, Project, Visio etc.), you buy a whole workspace. Users can seamlessly share and work together on documents, not only in their organization but also with others. It's easy to process information from one app to the other etc.
Yes, Google Docs might be the closest thing when it comes to features (but no match), however, looking at local restrictions and laws, Microsoft is one of the few companies that can host you M365 solution in an environment that, for example, matches european laws.
And that is the big problem, there are no alternatives for companies that are already on M365 and using the features of it.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#466Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a bunch of competitors to MS Office already: Libre/OpenOffice, Google Docs, Collabora, etc. Some of these are totally free to use, some open-source too. Have people switched en masse to them? Nope. Personally, I think MS needs to massively increase their prices here: they're leaving a lot of money on the table. Companies, especially, (and governments) just aren't going to switch, no matter what. So why not in…
HarmonyOS is gaining a lot of traction in China and has WPS pre-installed https://www.wps.com I've never used it but apparently it comes with ingame purchases.
Which is perfectly fine for China, but no western government or company who hopes to do business with them will consider this, and for good reason.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#467Most people using excel and word would be just as functional using office '98. SaaS is largely just a cancer on society. Monthly subscription to pay for features you never use and bug fixes you never should have needed.
People no longer really look at a product and ask if it does what they need, they just compare it to the previous product and ask if the newer product has 'more.' More is ALWAYS better, and there's no reason to think past this stage.
In this way, any successful product has no path to avoid becoming bloated. Cars must become heavier and more expensive over time. Video games must become longer, and features and systems must proliferate. And of course software can never be feature complete.
Everything must be 'more' every year no matter how much the actual experience is degraded.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#468Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd disagree in terms of the cloud capabilities. When it is used properly . The cloud stuff is very useful. I currently have a document that is going through multiple versions with about 8 people, with different expertise collaborating. Some have edit privs, some only have review. The ability for everyone to work on it simultaneously, with version history and no more document-v12-copy3_FINAL_FINALv2 is most welcome.
This is why Google Docs was so revolutionary... In 2006.
I cannot understand why they haven't got more traction today.
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#469I cancelled my personal O365 subscription for this reason, even though I prefer Word to LibreOffice and the crap my Mac provides-- it wasnt just they raised the price, it was the new "AI" features they kept pushing. When I cancelled, I made it clear why I was doing it. But I doubt anyone reads the feedback we provide
I use the personal subscription for the onedrive storage for my phones fotos
Re: Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices
#470This office suite is less known but great: https://www.freeoffice.com/
Wow now where did this come from??? Never heard of it :)