Background: One of the challenges we face when talking about SharePoint \u2013 any version \u2013 is that there are not only several versions, but several products with SharePoint in the name. It\u2019s not often we confuse SharePoint Workspace or SharePoint Designer for something in Foundation or Server. However when someone brings up \u2018SharePoint\u2019 it is often unclear if they are referring to SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server \u2013 Standard or Enterprise versions. It may seem like a simple issue, but when someone is talking about SharePoint features or solutions that are part of Enterprise, it\u2019s important to make the distinction so that Foundation users don\u2019t think they can do something they don\u2019t have access to. The MNSPUG crowd has gotten pretty good at calling this out during presentations, and we are all glad for the distinction. <\/p>\n
Now to the point of this<\/em> post: A similar confusion seems to be brewing in the Office 365 space. There are several versions of Office 365 that have similar, but different feature and capability offerings \u2013 with SharePoint Online as well as Exchange Online. I haven\u2019t seen any differences in Lync Online yet, but I haven\u2019t used it as much as the other two yet. During the Beta, we\u2019ve been exposed to the Small Business and Enterprise plans, with an Education offering also apparently on the way. Users need to be aware that when someone is referring to \u2018Office 365\u2019 that there can be significant differences between versions. <\/p>\n Most often when I hear people talking about \u2018Office 365\u2019 they are referring to the Enterprise version. While the Small Business version is certainly capable and appropriate for the target audience, it is definitely different from what is offered in the Enterprise edition. <\/p>\n