Octobits Blog – As a reminder, per September 2023, customers are seeing a 9% price increase across Microsoft 365 services, including the F3 licence.
This is all part of Microsoft’s plan to make its prices the same all over the world, to keep up with changes in currency and local market conditions.
Needless to say, us customers were the ones who felt the brunt of the price hike.
That’s why we’re going to look at the Microsoft 365 F3 price and what kind of value we can get.
What Is Microsoft 365 F3?
Microsoft 365 F3 is a cloud-based subscription plan designed for frontline workers and employees who need essential productivity and collaboration tools.
It offers a simplified version of the Microsoft 365 experience, focusing on key features like email, file storage and sharing, teamwork, and communication.
F3 might not have all the advanced features of the higher-tier plans like Microsoft 365 E3 or E5.
But, the F3 plan is a great way to boost productivity and make collaboration easier, especially for businesses with a distributed workforce or those in industries like retail, healthcare, or manufacturing.
As many F3 users work in industries where data security is a big concern, the plan also includes features to help protect sensitive business data, even on shared devices used by frontline employees.
This combination of essential tools and strong security at a reasonable price makes the F3 licence a great choice for businesses looking to give their frontline teams access to digital tools.
Microsoft 365 Main Features
In Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft Teams is going to be a really important part of it.
Teams in F3 is there to make real-time communication and collaboration easy through chat, video calls, and file sharing. It’s a real lifesaver for those working in dynamic, fast-paced environments.
For a good idea of how good Teams is, have a look at “Microsoft 365 Domestic Calling Plan Price: Features, Tiers, Plans, & Benefits“
Outlook is another great tool in the box. It gives users business-class email and calendaring capabilities.
Frontline workers can manage their communications and appointments easily, which helps them stay organised even when they’re busy.
OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage solution, gives us another way to be flexible. You can use it to store, access and share files from pretty much any device.
On top of that, SharePoint and Yammer help teams communicate and work together better, right across the company.
You’ll also see how the licence includes a range of security and compliance tools, such as Microsoft Defender, Information Protection, and Intune for device management.
This full set of security tools helps keep your company data safe and makes sure you stick to the rules set out by the industry.
Microsoft 365 F3 Price Details: Tiers & Plans
The latest update in the Microsoft website shows the price for the Microsoft 365 F3 plan is AUD $12.00 per user per month with Teams and an annual commitment.
If you don’t need Teams, you can get AU$11.20 per user per month with an annual commitment.
In the US, you can get the same thing for $8.00 with Teams and an annual commitment. If you don’t need Teams, you can get it for US $7.50 a month with an annual commitment.
Yes, there are just two plans for F3: one with Teams and one without.
There’s another option for the frontline plans of Microsoft 365: the F1 plan.
This Microsoft 365 F3 price is designed to give frontline workers the essential tools they need without the full desktop applications offered in higher-tier plans like Microsoft 365 E3, which costs a lot more.
The idea is to keep costs down, so they’ve made the core Office apps mobile and web-based, which is great for employees who are always on the go.
The 9% price increase that came into effect in September 2023 is part of a wider trend of software price adjustments. This is down to global economic shifts, currency fluctuations and rising software costs.
Benefits of Microsoft 365 F3
The Microsoft 365 F3 is a great deal at such an affordable price. Why is that? You can give your frontline employees the tools they need without breaking the bank on IT budgets.
This pricing is a real bonus for industries with lots of employees, like retail and healthcare, where the budget is often tight.
The plan is all about making it easy for frontline workers to access the tools and information they need, whenever and wherever they are.
This simple approach means that employees can stay productive even without access to full desktop applications, which are often not needed for their roles.
Security and compliance are built into the F3 plan, with features like Microsoft Defender and Intune included to keep business data safe across all devices.
What is the Difference Between Office 365 E3 and F3 License?
The main difference between Office 365 E3 and F3 is who they’re aimed at and the features you get with each one.
The E3 plan is aimed at knowledge workers and managers.
The E3 plan gives you a more comprehensive toolkit, including full-fledged desktop apps, advanced analytics capabilities, and an expanded array of compliance tools.
This gives users the tools they need for in-depth data analysis, complex project management, and meeting strict regulatory requirements.
On the other hand, the F3 plan is designed for frontline workers, focusing on making it easy to use and including the most important features.
Users get access to a bunch of essential mobile and web apps, so they can stay connected and productive on the go, but they’ll miss out on some of the more advanced features you get with the E3 plan.
The pricing structure reflects this difference in scope and target audience.
The E3 plan has a lot more features and is aimed at knowledge workers, so it costs a lot more than the F3 plan, which is designed for frontline workers.
For the best insights into Microsoft products, kindly read “How to Manage Your Microsoft 365 Business Essentials Price Like a Pro?“
How Octobits Helps You Manage Microsoft 365 F3
The rising cost of software licences is a growing concern for businesses, including the recent 9% increase in Microsoft 365 plans.
The good news is you can now manage and optimise your Microsoft licences, including Microsoft 365 F3 licences, with a centralised platform from Octobits.
But what is Octobits?
Octobits is a one-stop license management software for your IT departments and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to make day-to-day operations a breeze.
Imagine having one simple dashboard to manage all your IT services, from device tracking to billing and reporting.
This visibility means you can make smart choices about your Microsoft 365 F3 subscriptions. You’ll only pay for what you need and get the most out of your investment.
By keeping an eye on your licence with Octobits, you can keep costs down and deal with the problems of software price inflation, which will help your business to be more profitable.
And the icing on the cake is it’s completely free until December 2024. So why wait?
In Closing
The Microsoft 365 F3 is a great option for businesses looking to give their frontline workers the tools they need to be more productive and collaborate better.
It’s affordable, and you can access it in the cloud and it’s got great security features.
That’s why Octobits is here to help you keep track of the Microsoft 365 F3 price and all your SaaS usage in one place.
