The free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint are limited — no desktop apps, reduced features and no business-grade email, security or collaboration tools. Microsoft 365 adds a professional email address on your own domain, 1TB of cloud storage per user, Teams, SharePoint, advanced security and compliance tools, and regular updates. For any business serious about productivity and security, the free versions fall well short.

The key difference is what’s included at each tier. Basic gives you web and mobile versions of Office apps, email and Teams — good for lighter users. Standard adds full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. Premium includes everything in Standard plus enterprise-grade security, Microsoft Intune for device management and advanced compliance tools. As of July 2026, Business Premium is unchanged in price, making the gap between Standard and Premium smaller than ever.

Yes — your data belongs to you. Microsoft provides the infrastructure and platform, but your emails, files and documents remain yours. You can export or migrate your data at any time. This is an important distinction from some other cloud platforms where data ownership terms are less clear.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about Microsoft 365. Microsoft is responsible for the infrastructure staying online, but it does not provide full backup of your data. Emails deleted by users, files accidentally overwritten or data lost through a ransomware attack may not be recoverable through Microsoft alone. This is why Microcare pairs Microsoft 365 with Acronis cloud backup — so your data is always independently protected and recoverable.

For most small to mid-sized businesses, a Microsoft 365 migration takes between a few days and two weeks depending on the volume of data, the number of users and the complexity of your current setup. Microcare handles the entire process — planning, migration, testing and go-live — with minimal disruption to your team. Most staff notice very little difference on the day of switchover.

Yes. Microsoft 365 licences allow installation on up to five devices per user — including personal laptops, tablets and smartphones. With Business Premium, Microcare can use Microsoft Intune to ensure company data on personal devices remains secure and can be remotely wiped if a device is lost or an employee leaves.

If you cancel your subscription, Microsoft gives you a limited window — typically 90 days — to export your data before it is deleted. Microcare can help you manage any transition and ensure nothing is lost. It’s also worth noting that with Acronis email archiving in place, your historical email data is retained independently of your Microsoft 365 subscription status.

Microsoft 365 has strong built-in security — multi-factor authentication, encryption and compliance tools are all included. Business Premium adds advanced threat protection and data loss prevention. For most SMBs, particularly those in professional services, finance or healthcare, we recommend pairing Microsoft 365 with Acronis endpoint security and email protection for a fully layered defence.

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built into Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and more — it can draft emails, summarise meetings, analyse spreadsheets and help your team work faster. Copilot is available as a paid add-on across all Microsoft 365 Business plans at an additional £24.70 per user per month. It’s not included in the base subscription but can be added at any time. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss whether Copilot is right for your team.

Yes — one of the main advantages of Microsoft 365 is its flexibility. You can add new users, change licence types or remove leavers at any time. Microcare manages all of this on your behalf, including setting up new accounts, configuring email and ensuring departing employees are offboarded securely with data retained where needed.