Locally installed Office software licensing - OVS or M365?

[TwistedHelixis]

So just looking at upgrading our office software at a primary school and have the options of OVS or M365.

 

Although we use Google for most things cloud based most of the staff still like to use Office. We do have a 365 domain setup but that is more for me to keep my finger in the ever changing world of MS. I do have a few users setup in MS for teams etc, but not many.

 

Currently we have an Office licence key installed per device, as most of the pupils login to the laptops as a year group not as themselves, so having someting similare is important.

 

Both OVS & M365 offer free pupil accounts based on staff amounts and both seem to offer the option to install onto pupil machines withouit the need for the pupils to actually need an account for themselves.

 

Which version of Office would you suggest we purchase, OVS or M365?

 

Or are there any other options?

[Oaktech]

Our MAT have capitualated on Office licensing and allowed us to continue licensing office via KMS after a disastrous per-user 365 trial

[TwistedHelixis]

Our MAT have capitualated on Office licensing and allowed us to continue licensing office via KMS after a disastrous per-user 365 trial

 

I am not sold on the idea of M365 licencing due to the staff needing a 365 account, although I do like the fact 365 local office will get all the updates. Do you mind explaining what the issues were for you?

[Oaktech]

I am not sold on the idea of M365 licencing due to the staff needing a 365 account, although I do like the fact 365 local office will get all the updates. Do you mind explaining what the issues were for you?

 

We had lots of issues with software failing to aquire a licence, or taking 5-10 minutes after the device started before a licence was available, and therefore failing to start when required. We had issues with staff using/relying on the 'autosave' feature and ending up not knowing whether their document was in onedrive or local, sure it could be viewed as a training issue, but undoing, in some years, 20 years of locally licensed software usage is not a 5 minute job.

 

Staff felt that they wasted whole lessons with mobile devices that should have remained activated but lost activation on resuming from device standby requiring, depending on staff or student device, either someone to sign in again and activate, or to go through the menu and activate the software. Activating the software took whole minutes of waiting.

 

And then there were the inevitable, 'I forgot my password so I can't do *any* work'

 

we use WSUS for updates and office software is updated automatically anyway.

 

Path of least resistance was to revert back to Office 16 and change the development roadmap to continue using it until it leaves support and then move to '19 until it leaves support and in the mean time get everyone used to using 365 at home at their own pace.