There are some aspects to consider when you’re on Microsoft Office365:
Outlook
For years I’ve used GoogleMail, but their web interface - while revolutionary at its time - always had a toy touch to me. I prefer Outlook Web Access over it. However good it is, there are some bad sides to it, too:
- email is stored at Microsoft / Azure
- you can no longer have your own domain with it (at least with a personal or family account).
Onedrive
Onedrive can be used to sync your photos off your smartphone automatically. Also regular file synchronization between cloud and your computer, and multiple systems in general. There are good clients that can offer this functionality on Linux, too.
I do use KeepassXC to store my secrets, and I use mobile apps that can access Onedrive, too. An alternative will have to check these boxes, too.
AI
The suite was named Office365, one day they renamed it to Microsoft365. Few days ago, it suddently became Microsoft Copilot - which obviously is only a rebranding, not immediately with AI functionality, but its probably just a first step.
I don’t want to be given AI features to a product which I pay for. If I need it, I will purchase it, otherwise thanks, no.
Consequences
Microsoft is on the move to incorporating AI into its products. I was satisfied with their offering before that. I fear I’ll have to pay for this new stuff, one way or the other.
Considering my synced files, there: I have copies for the important stuff, but not everything. This issue made me rething this, and I plan to research alternatives. Email is supposedly to stay online for convenience, but I could imaging to self-host a solution for syncing and storage of my files.
Other big tech
Microsoft is not the only big tech company in my “portfolio”, obviously. I am silent on facebook, instagram, but I use WhatsApp. I use Google services (though not search). It’s just Twitter where I’ve already closed my account a few weeks ago.
