But Office 365 is just the same as on-premises functionality!
Clearly the title of this blog post is incorrect, but I had to raise it as recently someone made this comment to me. Their view was that they can run Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Skype for Business Server on-premises which would deliver the same functionality as Office 365.
What does Office 365 provide that you simply CANNOT deliver with on-premises systems? Focusing on the core feature set (without bringing in Project Online, Dynamics 365, EMS or others into it), it’s not a small list:
| Product | Description | Where you see it |
| Exchange Online Protection | Mail filtering service built into Exchange Online | Behind the scenes |
| Advanced Threat Protection | Protection against unknown malware & viruses, real-time protection against malicious URLs at time-of-click | Behind the scenes |
| Exchange Online Archiving | Yes you can have archiving on-premises, but not unlimited | Client & web |
| Office 365 Groups | Mix of document library, OneNote, Planner, Skype for Business, and SharePoint team site functionality | Desktop, web & mobile |
| Microsoft Teams | Chat-based workspace integrated with Office 365 Groups | Desktop, web & mobile |
| OneDrive for Business | Similar to Exchange Online Archiving, organisations can run OneDrive for Business on-premises but not provide unlimited storage | Desktop, web & mobile |
| Skype Meeting Broadcast | Host online meetings for up to 10,000 attendees | Behind the scenes |
| Clutter / Focused Inbox | Email sorting using machine learning, based on individual mail habits | Behind the scenes |
| Delve | Personal search & discovery of content | Desktop, web & mobile |
| MyAnalytics (formerly Delve Analytics) | Behavioural analytics based on mail & calendar | Web |
| Yammer | Enterprise social network platform | Web & mobile |
| Office 365 Video | Share & manage business videos | Web & mobile |
| Planner | Manage tasks on graphical boards (similar to Trello) | Web |
| Sway | Visual storytelling service | Desktop, web & mobile |
| Power BI | Interactive business intelligence dashboards | Desktop, web & mobile |
| PowerApps | Build mobile apps & logic flows | Desktop, web & mobile |
| Microsoft Flow | Automating workflows across apps and services (not just Office 365) | Desktop, web & mobile |
| Office Graph | Machine learning mapping connections between people & content | Behind the scenes |
Kirsty McGrath of OnPoint Solutions has created a wheel of the Office 365 services available, building on a similar one from Sharegate.
