Microsoft Cloud · Microsoft 365
arades GmbH is your Microsoft 365 Partner and Microsoft Licensing Partner. We provision Microsoft 365 subscriptions, advise on license optimization, and implement productively — from Office apps and Teams through SharePoint, Exchange, and OneDrive to Defender for Office, Intune, and Entra ID.
Platform overview
Microsoft 365 is not a single Office package but a platform combining productivity, collaboration, cloud storage, security, and identity management. Eight building blocks that carry the digital workplace in most mid-sized companies.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote — as desktop, web, and mobile variants. Included in nearly every Microsoft 365 plan, from Apps for Business through Business Standard to Enterprise E3/E5.
Chat, meetings, telephony, and collaboration in channels. With Teams Phone as an optional add-on, also a full cloud phone system — including Direct Routing and Operator Connect.
Intranet, document management, and knowledge portals. The foundation for Teams files, OneDrive, Microsoft Lists, and Power Pages — the base of almost any Microsoft 365 architecture.
Business email mailbox with 50 or 100 GB, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, and compliance features. As Exchange Online Plan 1, Plan 2, or integrated into Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise.
Personal cloud storage per user (1 TB+), seamlessly integrated with Office apps, Teams, and SharePoint. With Known Folder Move, OneDrive replaces classic file-server home drives.
Protection against phishing, malware, and business-email compromise. Included in Business Premium and Enterprise plans — also available as a standalone Defender for Office 365 add-on for lower plans.
Endpoint management for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Device compliance, app protection, Conditional Access, and automated onboarding via Autopilot — mandatory for any modern endpoint strategy.
Identity platform for single sign-on, MFA, Conditional Access, and Zero Trust. Controls not only Microsoft 365 but also SaaS applications, on-premises apps, and B2B guest access.
Microsoft 365 Copilot as an add-on for around €26 per user per month — AI directly inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. Complemented by Copilot Studio for tailored agents and in E7 by Agent 365.
Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365
In 2020, Microsoft moved the business branding from Office 365 to Microsoft 365. Anyone searching for "Office 365 pricing" or "Office 365 licenses" today finds current plans under the Microsoft 365 name — and a handful of Office 365 SKUs that continue to run in parallel. Three clarifications that prevent procurement mistakes.
In April 2020, Microsoft renamed the Office 365 brand in the business segment largely to Microsoft 365. The old Office 365 Business plans were folded into Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium. The important point: functional scope was not reduced but expanded by security and management components (Intune, Entra ID Premium, Defender). Microsoft 365 is therefore Office 365 plus an endpoint and identity layer — not a replacement with less inside.
In the enterprise segment, Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 continue to run and remain available for new orders. They're cheaper than the corresponding Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans but contain no Windows, no Intune, and no Defender suite. Useful for organizations that cover endpoint management and Windows licensing through other channels (e.g. existing Volume Licensing). In the SMB segment (up to 300 users), Microsoft has fully migrated Office 365 SKUs into the Microsoft 365 Business world.
More on licensing strategy, NCE renewal, and audience-group selection: Topic page "Microsoft 365 licensing and pricing". The License Cost Calculator shows the arades price and Microsoft list price transparently side by side.
Extensions, add-ons & custom development
Office 365 and Microsoft 365 are not the end of the journey, they're the start. We develop extensions, add-ons, and custom apps directly on the Microsoft 365 platform — from SharePoint Framework web parts through Teams apps and Outlook add-ins to Microsoft Graph–based integrations. What the standard doesn't cover, we build on the official Microsoft APIs — clean, supportable, Release-Wave-proof.
Custom SharePoint web parts, application customizers, field customizers, and command sets. Instead of forcing the standard layout, we build intranet components that fit your processes exactly — modern, performant, integrated with Microsoft Graph.
Custom Teams apps with tabs, bots, and messaging extensions — as an internal collaboration solution or as an add-on that brings CRM, ERP, or third-party data into Teams. Our Teams integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a productive live reference.
Outlook add-ins for desktop, web, and mobile built on the modern Office add-in platform (Office.js). We build add-ins that surface CRM contacts, cases, or ticketing systems directly in the inbox — without interrupting the Outlook workflow.
Microsoft Graph is the API gateway to all Microsoft 365 data — mail, calendar, files, Teams messages, users. We build integrations that connect third-party software, custom web apps, or external systems to Microsoft 365 — cleanly authorized via Entra ID.
Microsoft 365 already includes a light Power Platform license. We turn it into real applications: canvas apps for SharePoint data, Power Automate flows as a workflow engine, custom connectors for third-party APIs. Often the fastest route from Excel tool to documented business app.
Custom Copilot Agents that access SharePoint knowledge bases, Teams data, or custom data sources — as a standalone agent or as a Copilot extension directly inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. A concrete answer to "500 licenses need to become 500 users."
Pricing & SKUs
Microsoft 365 pricing and Office 365 cost aren't a mystery — but they sit inside a complex SKU landscape: Business, Enterprise, Frontline, Education, Non-Profit, add-ons. We do the math before procurement.
For companies up to 300 users. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Apps for Business, Business Standard, and Business Premium — from pure cloud office to the fully equipped bundle with Defender, Intune, and Windows.
For larger organizations from 300 users or with higher security requirements. Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 with the full Defender suite, Power BI Pro, audit-premium, and compliance features.
For frontline workers (shift, field service, production) F1 and F3 provide reduced functionality at significantly lower prices. Non-Profit and Education audiences receive discounts of up to 75%.
Pricing notice: Microsoft adjusts list prices regularly (currency adjustments, NCE updates, plan restructurings). Figures here are indicative values from May 2026. For current prices including arades CSP conditions, see the License Cost Calculator (licenses.arades.de) ↗ daily.
Microsoft 365 platforms in detail
Each of these building blocks is its own product with its own licensing questions, architecture decisions, and adoption topics. Find the in-depth Microsoft product pages here.
Collaboration & telephony
Chat, meetings, channel collaboration, and Teams Phone as a cloud PBX. Architecture, governance, and adoption set up cleanly — from Direct Routing to Operator Connect.
See Microsoft Teams →
Intranet & documents
Intranet, document management, and knowledge portals. Information architecture, hub sites, permission model, and SPFx extensions — the foundation of nearly every Microsoft 365 landscape.
See SharePoint →
Email & calendar
Business email mailboxes, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, mail-flow rules, and migration from on-premises Exchange or IMAP. Available as Plan 1, Plan 2, or integrated into Microsoft 365.
See Exchange Online →
Endpoint management
Endpoint management for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Device compliance, app protection, Conditional Access, and automated onboarding via Autopilot.
See Microsoft Intune →
Tasks & projects
Task management, team plans, and To Do integration — as the new unified Planner app inside Microsoft Teams. Plus Project for the Web for lightweight project planning with Gantt charts and resources.
See Microsoft Planner →
Custom development
SharePoint Framework web parts, Teams apps, Outlook add-ins, and Microsoft Graph integrations — what the standard doesn't cover, we build on top of the official Microsoft APIs.
See extensions & add-ons →
Implementation
Buying licenses is the easy part — getting Microsoft 365 into production requires architecture, migration, an identity concept, and an endpoint strategy. We support implementation projects as advisory, co-implementation, or with our own delivery share.
Realistic timeline: For a mid-sized company of 50–300 users we typically plan 8–16 weeks for a clean Microsoft 365 rollout including data migration, security setup, and adoption — depending on legacy-system complexity and migration scope.
Training & adoption
Microsoft 365 only delivers value when users actually use Teams, SharePoint, and Copilot. We train end users, power users, and administrators — in-house, online, or in the classroom.
FAQ
Microsoft 365 pricing ranges from the affordable Business Basic (around €5 per user per month) through Business Standard (around €11) and Business Premium (around €23) to enterprise plans like Microsoft 365 E3 (around €35) and E5 (around €55). Add-ons such as Microsoft 365 Copilot add around €26 per user per month. Actual Office 365 cost depends on audience group, contract term, and add-on strategy — the License Cost Calculator shows the arades price and list price transparently side by side.
Microsoft renamed the Office 365 brand in the business segment to Microsoft 365 in 2020 — the plans still include the Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to pure Office 365, Microsoft 365 adds Windows licensing (in Business Premium and Enterprise) plus security and management components like Intune, Entra ID, and Defender. Anyone searching for "Office 365 pricing" today typically means Microsoft 365.
For small and mid-sized businesses up to 300 users, Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Business Premium is the right Office package: Office apps, Exchange mailbox, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and (in Premium) Defender for Business and Intune. Larger organizations or companies with higher security and compliance requirements choose Microsoft 365 E3 or E5. The "Office for businesses" recommendation depends on user count, security level, and frontline-worker share — we work out the right mix in 30 minutes.
Office apps without cloud services (Microsoft 365 Apps for Business) run around €9 per user per month — that's the floor for classic MS Office in a business context. If you also need an Exchange mailbox, Teams, and SharePoint, you're better off with Business Standard from around €11 per user per month. One-off Office licenses (Office LTSC, Office 2024) are technically possible but rarely make economic sense, since they lack updates, cloud mail, and collaboration.
There's no separate "license agreement price" for Microsoft 365 — costs come from the number of users, chosen plan, contract term (monthly, annual, triennial), and add-ons. The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) or Microsoft Customer Agreement for Partners (MCA-P) is accepted electronically once; afterward, billing runs per subscription. In the arades GmbH CSP model you get a monthly aggregated invoice in euros and can see the current license status at any time.
Yes — arades GmbH is a Microsoft Partner and CSP (Microsoft Licensing Partner). We provision Microsoft 365 subscriptions (Office 365 plans, Microsoft 365 Business, Enterprise, Frontline, Education, Non-Profit), advise on license optimization, and on request take over ongoing license management. With 20+ years of Microsoft practice, we are technical partner and license provider in one.
Yes — as a Microsoft Licensing Partner we are an Office 365 and Microsoft 365 reseller for customers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the EU. Procurement runs transparently: you see prices in the License Cost Calculator before ordering, get monthly invoices in euros, and have a personal contact instead of an anonymous online portal. If you yourself want to become an Office 365 reseller, talk to us about a reseller-based partner model.
Outlook is included in all relevant Microsoft 365 plans — Outlook for businesses is practically no longer licensed separately. If you want an Exchange mailbox plus Outlook app at the lowest level, combine Exchange Online Plan 1 (around €4 per user per month) with Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (around €9). Economically it usually makes more sense to use Microsoft 365 Business Standard, where Outlook, Exchange mailbox, Teams, and SharePoint together come in at around €11 per user per month.
Free Microsoft 365 trial guidance
arades sets up a test tenant for 3 users, trains your key users, runs weekly office hours — and tells you honestly at the end whether Microsoft 365 is the right fit. Free of charge.
Microsoft 365 — initial conversation
30-minute initial conversation — we'll clarify whether you're after Office 365 pricing, a clean implementation, or ongoing Microsoft 365 management. You get a concrete recommendation, typically within one business day.
Accompanying services
Engineering projects rarely stand alone — license logic, architecture clarification, quality gates, knowledge transfer, and follow-on operations usually run in parallel. Here are the most common accompanying services we add to Discovery Spikes, sprint fixed-price engagements, or Application Care contracts.
Up front · architecture
Before implementation: tenant structure, data model, security concept, integration mapping. The result is an architecture document any engineering team can pick up — including one other than us.
Read more →
Up front · CSP
Which license bundles for which users, which add-on SKUs are needed, where you are over- or under-licensed. Procured via Microsoft Licensing Partner — with the option to use CSP purely as a control mechanism without margin maximization.
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During · quality gate
Independent second opinion during a running implementation project — whether we are delivering it or another partner. CMMI-based quality gates, risk reviews, fixed price per gate.
During · adoption
Not the classic two-day workshop that's forgotten after a week — but a dynamic learning program over 4–6 weeks with kickoff training, application phases, and advanced sessions. Training matrix for roles and topics.
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After · operations
After go-live: a predictable Application Care contract with monthly flat rate, SLA-based. Includes releases, hotfixes, extensions, tenant hardening — and continuous support instead of merely reacting to tickets.
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After · knowledge
When the original developers are gone, the previous partner is no longer reachable, or the documentation is outdated — reverse engineering of the existing solution with a documented result: code map, data model, customization inventory.
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