Microsoft Office, now sold as Microsoft 365, against Office.eu, the European-hosted suite launched in 2026. Compared plainly, by a team that operates both.
Microsoft Office no longer exists as a product you buy once. It is sold as Microsoft 365: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook alongside Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, on subscription, in Microsoft's cloud. Office.eu launched in early 2026 as a deliberate alternative. It covers documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, calendars, file storage and video meetings, is built on open-source software, and is European-owned, running on infrastructure hosted and managed entirely within the EU.
For most firms, comparing the two on features misses the point. Both will write a letter, build a spreadsheet and run a video call, and Office.eu works in the same .docx, .xlsx and .pptx formats your clients send you. The difference that matters to a regulated firm is jurisdiction: who owns the platform, which laws govern it, and where client data actually sits. Microsoft is a US company, and data held in its cloud can fall within reach of US law. Office.eu is European-owned and governed by EU law and GDPR. For a firm that answers to the FCA, the ICO or a client mandate about where data lives, that is the comparison worth making.
| Microsoft 365 | Office.eu | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Microsoft's subscription suite, the successor to the boxed Microsoft Office licences | A European-owned cloud office suite, launched in early 2026, built on open-source software |
| Applications | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive | Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, calendars, file storage, video meetings |
| How you work | Installed desktop applications plus web and mobile | Through the browser, as a cloud workspace |
| File formats | Native .docx, .xlsx and .pptx | Works in the same Microsoft formats |
| Ownership and governing law | Microsoft Corporation, a US company; data in its cloud can fall within reach of US law | European-owned, governed by EU law and GDPR |
| Where data lives | Microsoft's global cloud, with UK and EU datacentre regions available | Infrastructure hosted and managed entirely within the EU |
| Track record | Decades of development; integrates with almost everything a firm already uses | A young platform with a capable core and a smaller ecosystem |
| Best fit | Most UK wealth management and accountancy firms | Firms whose data residency obligations or client mandates require European jurisdiction |
We are a Microsoft Solutions Partner and we operate both platforms, so the recommendation is driven by your obligations, not by what we can sell. The assessment looks at your data residency obligations, your regulators' expectations and how your team actually works, and it closes with a written recommendation before anything moves. Read how we deliver each platform on the Microsoft 365 and Office.eu service pages, or ask us to assess your position.
Wealth managers, chartered accountants and other regulated firms across the UK come to us when IT and security need to be brought under one accountable team. Tell us where you are now, and we will tell you what good looks like.
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