SharePoint was released by Microsoft in 2001 to share documents within organizations and teams. Today, SharePoint is used by millions of customers worldwide, not only to share documents but to collaborate, share and even build websites.
SharePoint includes the following products.
SharePoint Server
Organizations can deploy and manage a SharePoint Server on-premises. It includes all the features of SharePoint Foundation. And it offers additional features and capabilities such as Enterprise Content Management, business intelligence, enterprise search, personal sites and Newsfeed. The next version of SharePoint server is SharePoint Server 2016 that is expected to Q2 2016. Learn more about SharePoint Server.
SharePoint Foundation
SharePoint Foundation is the underlying technology for all SharePoint sites. SharePoint Foundation (formerly Windows SharePoint Services) is free for on-premises deployment. You can use SharePoint Foundation to create many types of sites where you can collaborate on webpages, documents, lists, calendars and data.
SharePoint Designer
SharePoint Designer is a free program. Use it to build powerful, workflow-enabled solutions. And use it to edit an external content type for an external data solution based on Business Connectivity Services. Learn more about SharePoint Designer.
SharePoint Online
SharePoint Online is the latest cloud based version of SharePoint that allows you SharePoint functionality in the Microsoft cloud without installing on your server and managing your own server infrastructure. SharePoint Online can be accessed from anywhere, any device.
SharePoint Online integrates with Microsoft Office 365 that allows you to create, open, edit and share Office documents, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. SharePoint Online also integrates with other products and tools, such as OneNote, SQL Server and so on.
SharePoint Online integrates with Office 365 and can be purchased standalone or as a part of an Office 365 subscription. As a standalone product, SharePoint Online has two plans starting at $5 and $8 per user per month.
The key features of SharePoint Online includes the following.
Share
SharePoint Online uses OneDrive for Business to store and keep in sync, access and share your documents wherever you go.
Organize and Collaborate
SharePoint sites provide a central workspace for your projects where you can store content, collaborate with team members, edit and review them and manage project schedules and timelines.
Discover
SharePoint Online has a powerful search that makes it easy to find relevant contents. Once discovered, you can interact, share, view and edit documents right there from the search results.
SharePoint Online App Store
The SharePoint Online App Store gives you access to available apps and builds and shares your own apps. You can build and access both free and paid apps.
Manage
SharePoint Online provides you easy-to-manage and seamless upgrades to the new versions and features.
References
SharePoint online pricing options
SharePoint Online