Effective utilization of Microsoft Office is a necessity for all businesses in this extremely ambitious market. Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based service that offers various collaboration tools for business essentials. Even though it has the monopoly over its market, it continually delivers superior version updates. There are different enterprise plans available for companies to choose from that best fit their demands. This article is going to compare the three flagship enterprise plans offered by Microsoft 365 – E1, E3, and E5, to help businesses make informed choices conveniently.
Let’s start with a tabular comparison between the three plans
| Office 365 E1 | Office 365 E3 | Office 365 E5 | |
| Office Apps Online | Available | Available | Available |
| Desktop Apps | Not Available | Available | Available |
| One Drive Cloud Storage | 1 TB | 1 TB | 1 TB |
| Security Features | Basic Security | Core Security Features | Advanced Security and Compliance Capabilities |
| Anytime Phone and Web Support | Available | Available | Available |
| Microsoft Co-Pilot | Available as an add on feature | Available as an add on feature | Available as an add on feature |
| Advanced Analytics | Limited Features | Limited Features | Advanced Features |
| Identity and Access Management | Limited Features | Limited Features | Advanced Features |
To get an even better understanding of which plan to ultimately buy, here is a detailed explanation of the three plans.
Microsoft Office 365 E1
It is the starter enterprise plan with the lowest price that includes all the foundational Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but can only be accessed on the web. With 1TB OneDrive storage, it offers five layers of security that would keep all your data safe. To keep up with the current development, it also offers AI assistance with an add-on feature of Microsoft Co-Pilot.
Microsoft Office 365 E3
As a more advanced plan, E3 includes all the features offered by E1 and more. The users can use all the Microsoft Office applications on both the web and as desktop apps. They can install it on up to five PCs, five tablets, and five mobile devices per user. Furthermore, it offers more security features adding to what E1 offers like Rights Management and DLP (data loss prevention) for emails and files.
Microsoft Office 365 E5
Office 365 E5 is the most comprehensive plan that includes all the other plans’ offers. It has the most advanced security and compliance capabilities including Advanced Threat Protection and O365 Cloud App Security. To let users perform data analysis and visualization, E5 offers advanced analytics to scale business analytics with Power BI.
Overall, while all three plans offer the foundation Microsoft Office applications, depending on a business’ requirements and budget, it can efficiently choose the most compatible plan for them. For startups with tight budgets and need of only basic Office applications, E1 could be the choice for them.
However, depending on the sensitivity of data a business is dealing with, it would need a plan with more security features and a more consistence access to the applications. Office 365 E3 offers better security option and also easy access due to the application availability as desktop apps.
And for businesses that require security of the highest level with easy access and advanced analytic options, Office 365 E5 is the best plan for them.
In conclusion
It is most importance for a business to understand that they should choose the plan that is the most compatible with them for optimal and higher productivity. We hope this article will help you get better clarity to make the right decision.