Introduction:

Microsoft Office is a family of client software, server software, and services

developed by Microsoft. The first version of Office contained Microsoft
Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Over the years, Office
applications have grown substantially closer with shared features such as a
common spell checker, Object Linking and Embedding data integration and
Visual Basic for Applications scripting language.

Office 365 was introduced in 2010 to refer to subscription-based software

as a service platform for the corporate market, including hosted services
such as Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync Server, and Office on the web.

Microsoft Office 2021:

Microsoft Office 2021 (third release codenamed Office 16) is a version of

the Microsoft Office suite of applications for the Microsoft Windows and
macOS operating systems. It was released on October 5, 2021, along with
Windows 11, and replaced Office 2019. Some important features are as
following :

a) Co-author documents: With real-time co-authoring, one can work with

others in the same document at the same time. There’s no need to
send extra notes or emails because everyone will be notified when a
file is updated.
b) Better collaboration with modern comments: Have control of when to
send comments to co-authors and be productive with a consistent
commenting experience between Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
c) Know who's in the document: See who else is working along with and
where they are in the document. One will find this experience in
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
d) Translator and ink in Outlook: Translate email messages into more
than 70 languages on the fly and view the transcript—all within
Outlook. Annotate email images or draw in a separate canvas using
finger, pen, or mouse.
e) Performance improvements: Experience improved performance,
stability, and speed across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Get faster calculations from common Excel functions like SUMIF,
COUNTIF, and AVERAGEIF.

Microsoft 365:
Office 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration
and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It consist online
services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs
formerly marketed under the name Microsoft Office (including
applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on
Microsoft Windows, macOS, mobile devices, and on the web),
enterprise products and services associated with these products such
as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and Yammer. Office 365 offers
services and software using four methods:
a) Desktop applications: Microsoft 365 desktop applications
(formerly marketed as Microsoft Office) are primarily used on
personal computers running Microsoft Windows, and are
distributed as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription. They are
installed using a "click-to-run" system which allows users to begin
using the applications almost instantaneously. This includes
applications like word, excel, PowerPoint, outlook etc.
b) Mobile and web applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are
available as mobile and web app, usable for free with limitations,
although they do not contain all of the functionality as the desktop
versions. The mobile apps were originally limited to Office 365
subscribers, but basic editing and document creation has since
been made free for personal use. In February 2020, Microsoft
introduced a new Microsoft Office app that integrates Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint, replacing the previous, separate apps for each.
c) Online services and apps: Some Microsoft 365 online services are
usable without a subscription, but with limitations such as
advertising and lower storage limits. This includes :
1. Outlook.com, an online webmail service originally launched as
Hotmail, also including an address book (People) and calendar.
2. OneDrive, an online file storage service.
 3. Office on the web, cloud-based versions of Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint; they compete primarily with services such as
Google Docs.
4. Microsoft Teams, a business communication platform.
5. Microsoft Family Safety is a service encompassing parental
controls that can be used across Windows, Android, iOS, and
Xbox devices for web filtering, time limits, location sharing, and
other features.
d) Enterprise servers and services: Business and enterprise-oriented
plans for Microsoft/Office 365 offer access to cloud-hosted server
platforms on a software as a service basis, including Exchange,
Skype for Business, SharePoint, Microsoft Dictate (speech
recognition), and Office on the web
Licensing:
Office 2021 is sold as a one-time purchase, which means pay a
single, up-front cost to get Office apps for one computer. One-time
purchases are available for both PCs and Macs. However, there are
no upgrade options, which means if one plans to upgrade to the next
major release, he has to buy it at full price.
Microsoft 365 is a subscription that includes the most collaborative,
up-to-date features in one seamless, integrated experience. Microsoft
365 includes the robust Office desktop apps that we are familiar with,
like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. We also get extra online storage
and cloud-connected features that let us collaborate on files in real
time. With a subscription, we will always have the latest features,
fixes, and security updates along with ongoing tech support at no
extra cost. One can choose to pay for subscription on a monthly or
yearly basis, and the Microsoft 365 Family plan allows to share
subscription with up to 6 people, and use apps on multiple PCs,
Macs, tablets, and phones.
 Comparison

Office 2021 Office 365

Cost Pay a single, one-time Pay a small monthly fee, or
cost. save by paying for a full year.
Applications Get Microsoft 365 apps Get the fully installed and latest
like Excel, Word, and versions of Excel, Word,
PowerPoint. PowerPoint and Outlook, and
OneNote for Windows or Mac.
Will always get the latest
features, new tools, security
updates, and bug fixes. (PC
users also get Access and
Publisher.)
Feature Security updates are Apps will always be improving.
updates included, but won’t get any Get all the latest features and
new features. Upgrades to updates, as well as security
major releases aren't updates and bug fixes.
included.
Installation on Install the mobile apps for Install the mobile apps for free
multiple free and get basic editing and get extra features when
computer features on tablets or sign in to Microsoft 365 apps
phones under 10.1 inches. on the device.
Extra online Not included. Securely store files in the cloud
storage and access them from
anywhere. Get 1 TB of cloud
storage. With Microsoft 365
Family get 1 TB per user, and
anyone shared with will also
get their own 1 TB of cloud
storage.
Technical Initial technical support is Contact throughout
support included for installing only. subscription period at no extra
cost for help with technical
issues, or for subscription and
billing support.
Conclusion:
If one encourages flexibility, remote work and collaboration, Microsoft
365 may be the best option allowing access to all applications and
cloud-based tools. However, if one needs basic applications on-
premise, a one-time purchase of MS Office 2021 could be a practical
choice.
In our scenario (SAIL), Microsoft office 365 will be the best option to
go with.