Microsoft Releases New Microsoft 365 Plan for Firstline Workers

Microsoft 365 combines intuitive best-in-class productivity apps with intelligent cloud services to empower your Firstline Workforce. 
_____________________________________

Firstline workers are the people who work in service or task-oriented roles across a variety of industries such as retail, hospitality, or manufacturing. They often drive the bottom line, define the customer experience, are the face of organizations, and are crucial to the success of products/services. Empowering workers with the right tools and technologies is vital to their potential to create success. Through Microsoft’s Firstline Worker plans, organizations can streamline business practices and protect your organization's assets at the same time! Read on to learn about recent changes and upgrades to these plans.

Value Added to Firstline Workers

On March 19, 2020, Microsoft announced a new Microsoft 365 plan designed specifically for firstline workers. The goal of this is to further connect firstline workers with the rest of the company – and close the long-standing technology gaps that separate firstline workers from the tools, resources, and expertise they need to do their best work.

This new plan has new value specifically for Microsoft’s Firstline Worker plans. It will extend the Microsoft 365 licensing line-up and will slot below Microsoft’s existing Firstline plan. Therefore, it will inherit the Microsoft 365 F1 name, and the previously known as Microsoft 365 F1 plan will be renamed to Microsoft 365 F3.

New Microsoft 365 Firstline Worker Plan vs. Updated Plans

Microsoft 365 F1 (New) was rolled out on April 1^st, 2020. This plan costs $4 per user, per month – and includes products like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Stream, and Enterprise Security + Management. This new plan provides a secure and integrated experience for Firstline Workers, bringing value and convenience to organizations across the world! This plan is ideal for workers who do not need email, need to have a secure account with Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication and should have access to collaboration tools such as Teams or Stream. Capabilities include:

• Teams – The Microsoft hub for team collaboration. Host meetings, app integrations, instant messaging, and calls!
• SharePoint/Yammer – A cloud-based service to share, organize, and discover information/files.
• Stream – Includes consumption only, no publish/share. Engage and inform with intelligent video, such as communications, meetings, or training!
• Planner – Easily bring together teams, tasks, documents, and conversations for better results!
• Intune – Cloud-based enterprise mobility management tool that helps manage mobile devices that can access corporate data and applications.
• Azure Active Directory P1 – Provides identity management and Multi-Factor Authentication with conditional access for on-premise users, remote users, and hybrid users.
• Advanced Threat Analytics, Advanced Information Protection P1 – Reduce risk and increase security with advanced information protection and analytics regarding threats and attacks!

Microsoft 365 F3 (Updated) was renamed from “Microsoft 365 F1” to “Microsoft 365 F3” on April 1^st, 2020. This plan is ideal for workers who need access to email, can utilize Forms, Power Automate/Power Apps, and take advantage of Windows 10 E3. This plan costs $10 per user, per month, and includes all features in the New Microsoft 365 F1 plan, plus additional capabilities such as:

• Forms – Create surveys and polls easily to collect customer feedback, measure employee satisfaction, and organize team events.
• OneDrive for business storage – Access, share, and collaborate on files from anywhere.
• Exchange Email – Connect and stay organized with email, calendar, and contacts for the web and mobile. No Outlook Desktop Integration, No Voicemail.
• Power Automate – Users will have the ability to create Power Apps and complete 2,000 steps/day. Steps are a unit of business logic within a workflow. Steps can include conditions, actions, other steps, or a combination of these elements.
• Power Apps – Build business apps to enhance worker productivity and innovation.
• Windows 10 E3 – per user includes cloud management and virtualization.
• Windows Virtual Desktop Rights – Access Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 7 Enterprise desktops and apps.

Office 365 F3 includes Office for the web and mobile apps. This allows one hub for teamwork between Firstline Workers with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, OneDrive, and Outlook web and Mobile.

View the comparison chart between different Microsoft 365 Firstline Worker Plans:

How can Interlink Help?

Interlink is here to guide and assist you regardless of what Microsoft licensing, subscription, or plan your organization currently has. Please reach out to us for more information about pricing and features, and how empowering your Firstline workers can optimize your organization specifically! We work hard to make sure our clients know exactly what they are getting, and how to get the most from their investments.

Interested in learning more? View our similar blog: Microsoft 365 Licensing Options: Microsoft 365 Business vs. Microsoft 365 E3.