Is Office 365 really “in the cloud?”

Short answer:

Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access are not inherently cloud-based. They are desktop applications that run locally on your machine. Our software uses only their local functionality — nothing in our setup sends your data to Microsoft or stores it in the cloud.

Longer answer:

Local execution: In our environment, Word, Excel, and Access are installed directly on the user’s computer or office server. They work without an internet connection and store files wherever the user chooses — local drive, secure office server, or an isolated network location.

No cloud dependence: While Microsoft offers optional cloud storage (OneDrive, SharePoint) and real-time co-authoring, those features are not required and are not used by our software. Disabling them ensures your documents never leave your controlled environment.

No third-party processing: Unlike some document automation platforms, Doxserá DB doesn’t send your templates, data, or output to any vendor’s servers — including Microsoft’s — for processing. Everything happens inside your secure, local Office installation.

Same trusted tools: Law firms and corporations have been using on-premises Word, Excel, and Access for decades in secure, regulated environments. Our software simply leverages those same trusted programs, with no added exposure.

The misunderstanding usually comes from people thinking “Office 365” = cloud-only, when in reality:

Only the lowest-tier, browser-only plan (Microsoft 365 Online) removes the local install option.

Every other subscription or perpetual license installs full desktop apps that can run 100% offline.

Two forces are at work:

Marketing language blurs “cloud-enabled” and “cloud-dependent.”

Microsoft benefits if customers think 365 requires the cloud.

This perception helps them nudge people away from perpetual licenses toward subscriptions.

They’ve also made “Microsoft 365” the brand for both the subscription service and the desktop apps that run locally, which confuses the difference on purpose.

Subscription economics are irresistible for them.

With perpetual licenses, they get one big payment up front and have to “earn” upgrades later.

With subscriptions, they get a steady, predictable cash flow forever.

Once you’re in, switching away is harder because they’ve tied in cloud storage, email, Teams, and sometimes even identity management (Azure AD) into the same bundle.

From Microsoft’s perspective, that’s a win–win. From a customer’s perspective, it’s only a win if you actually want those extras and don’t mind the permanent meter running.

This article has been summarized in our August Word Warrior newsletter.