Microsoft Renames Office Online

Microsoft announced that it will drop the word “Online” from its Office Online branding. Apparently, it was too precise.

“Microsoft has decided to retire the ‘Online’ branding for the web version of Office and adopt new terminology for how we refer to the apps on the web,” Microsoft’s Bill Doll explains, and the very wording of that first sentence suggests he’s trying to distance himself from this bad decision. “Office Online is now simply Office.”

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No, it’s not April 1. Instead, “because [its] offerings have evolved to provide access to apps on more than one platform,” Microsoft feels that it no longer needs to indicate the name of the platform in its product names. I disagree. Microsoft has always provided access to its Office apps on more than one platform—Excel shipped first for the Mac, you may recall—and being precise is important. Word for Mac is not the same as Word for Windows or Word Online—sorry, “Word for the web”—despite the similar looks and feels, functionality, and even code bases.

What’s really silly here is that even Microsoft acknowledges this.

“Of course, at times we still need to make specific reference to the web version of Office so you may see us use the term ‘Office for the web,’ which aligns with how we refer to Office on other platforms such as ‘Office for Windows,’ ‘Office for Mac,’ ‘Office for iOS,’ and ‘Office for Android’,” he continues. “However, ‘…for the web’ is not a new brand or strict naming convention so you may also see us also use terminology such as ‘…on the web,’ ‘…on Office.com,’ and ‘…in a browser.’ We encourage people to use whichever terminology is most appropriate and provides the most clarity for a given context.”

I know. You’re thinking, this couldn’t get worse. But you’re wrong.

“It is important to note that this branding change only applies to the Office apps,” Doll continues, amping the incredulity to 11. “There is no change to the branding for our ‘Online’ server products – specifically Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Project Online, and Office Online Server.”

WHY.

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Conversation 31 comments

  • dontbe evil

    25 July, 2019 - 2:55 am

    <p>I hate that my new company use gsuite, office (online) is millions of years ahead</p>

    • mikes_infl

      25 July, 2019 - 1:48 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#444855"><em>In reply to dontbe_evil:</em></a><em> Careful, Microsoft might hear you and take care of that.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      25 July, 2019 - 8:17 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/office/211029/microsoft-renames-office-online#444855&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to dontbe_evil:</em></a></p><p>Maybe depends on which programs one uses most. For me it's spreadsheets. There are things not to like in Google Sheets, but it can handle more than Excel Online can.</p>

      • dougkinzinger

        26 July, 2019 - 5:28 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#445127">In reply to hrlngrv:</a></em></blockquote><p>You mean Excel. :D</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 3:20 am

    <p>That's as clear as mud then…</p><p>Naming it Office for Web makes some sense, that puts it inline with all other versions of Office for… But the rest of the message is a complete muddle.</p>

  • jchampeau

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 5:25 am

    <p>Did Jack Nicholson take over the task of coming up with names for Microsoft products? Or is someone just channeling him. Either way, it's like reason and accountability play no role in the process of coming up with names for their wares.</p>

  • bart

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 6:10 am

    <p>Has the fact Office PWA's might be around the corner got to do with anything? </p><p><br></p><p>Not to confuse people seeing either Office, or 'something different' called Office Online on their PC?</p>

  • Greg Green

    25 July, 2019 - 8:57 am

    <p>This decision doesn’t seem like it was vetted very well. You have to wonder about the knucklehead that came up with the idea and all the management knuckleheads above them that approved the idea. </p>

  • MikeGalos

    25 July, 2019 - 9:40 am

    <p>Ah, so when Microsoft makes product names longer to be more precise, that's bad and when Microsoft makes product names less precise to make them shorter, that's bad.</p><p><br></p><p>Got it.</p>

    • skane2600

      25 July, 2019 - 10:46 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#444922">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>Where in this story does Paul complain about long names?</p>

      • MikeGalos

        25 July, 2019 - 11:56 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#444942">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>He didn't in THIS story but has, frequently, made fun of long, very precise Microsoft product names in the past.</p>

        • skane2600

          25 July, 2019 - 1:17 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#444971">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'd be more convinced with some citations. If he did do so frequently, they should be very easy for you to find.</p>

    • bluvg

      25 July, 2019 - 12:04 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#444922">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>Those two things are not mutually exclusive. "Office Online" is not long. "Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Limited Numbered Signature Edition" is long. And not alone.</p>

  • littlejohnjt

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 10:02 am

    <p>Paul naming stuff is a hard computer science problem! ;)</p>

  • mejason83

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 10:40 am

    <p>At some point we have to admit that they are just toying with Paul! ;-)</p>

  • DaveHelps

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 11:25 am

    <p>Will we soon see Pen Loop for the Surface?</p>

  • davidblouin

    25 July, 2019 - 12:03 pm

    <p>How i miss the days of winsupersite, now we're stuck with oldmanyellingatcloud.com</p>

    • Intara

      25 July, 2019 - 4:11 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#444972">In reply to davidblouin:</a></em></blockquote><p>Windows is not super any more. </p>

  • bluvg

    25 July, 2019 - 12:08 pm

    <p>This is similar to the rename from Metro to… something. What do we call it now? Your choice. Instead of "Where do you want to go today?", "What would you like to call it today?" Differentiating Word Online from full client programs is important. <em>Words </em>are important.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      25 July, 2019 - 7:45 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/office/211029/microsoft-renames-office-online#444974&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to bluvg:</em></a></p><blockquote>from Metro to…</blockquote><p>Modern, as in now more than 5 years old, so in tech terms not modern.</p>

      • bluvg

        26 July, 2019 - 5:48 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#445114">In reply to hrlngrv:</a></em></blockquote><p>"Modern" never really caught on, and wasn't even used consistently by Microsoft themselves. Plus, adjectives make for terrible brand names.</p>

  • zorb56

    Premium Member
    25 July, 2019 - 12:21 pm

    <p>You know what…. There was a recent change in Teams that when launching a file, it used to ask you to open in in Excel Online or Excel. Now it asks you if you want to open "in Browser" or "in Desktop App." I wondered why they changed this. Now I know. Sounds like they needed to find a task for an intern.</p>

  • ejuly

    25 July, 2019 - 1:45 pm

    <p>I wish MS would hire me to name their products. They would be precise and simple. Word for Mac, Word for Windows, and Word Online unless they provided at least 97% of the same features and abilities. Word online is at about 65 to 7O% of feature set with some major missing items.</p>

  • mikes_infl

    25 July, 2019 - 1:50 pm

    <p>Folks used to jest that the only thing staying the same was the rate of change. Microsoft has made it so that's no longer funny nor accurate.</p>

  • Leebing

    25 July, 2019 - 2:11 pm

    <p>So they just had the earnings call and it's the start of the new fiscal year. We know they are always reorganizing internally around this time. Can we expect that this is all about how they will be moving the reporting of Office revenue? Or is this more about changing around the department heads internally?</p>

  • waethorn

    25 July, 2019 - 4:18 pm

    <p>This is why I still say "Outlook dot com" when referring to the online version. it IS NOWHERE CLOSE to the desktop software.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      25 July, 2019 - 7:43 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/office/211029/microsoft-renames-office-online#445090&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to Waethorn:</em></a></p><p>You think Excel online is any closer to Windows desktop Excel?</p><p>Does any business, even single-person ones, use, er, <em>Office for Browsers</em> rather than Office for either Windows or Mac if they use Office at all? That is, aren't the web apps almost exclusively for noncommercial use for individuals?</p>

  • Randall Lewis

    27 July, 2019 - 12:31 am

    <p>Ahh, the summer doldrums when tech bloggers get worked into a froth about product name changes. </p>

  • bob_shutts

    27 July, 2019 - 3:00 pm

    <p>Love Paul’s dry sense of humor. </p>

  • ndwilder

    31 July, 2019 - 2:32 pm

    <p>Imagine, if branding was well thought out BEFORE something was rolled out…</p>

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