As Office 2010 support has now reached the final year of its 10-year lifecycle, Microsoft is encouraging customers to migrate to its newer subscription-based Office 365 ProPlus bundle which it says is the future of Office.
The software giant recently announced that extended support for Office 2010 will come to an end on October 13, 2020. However, as is the case with Windows 7 which has an end of life date of January 2020, Office 2010 will also no longer receive tech support, bug fixes or security patches.
While customers could choose to upgrade to the on-premise Office 2019 for a one-time purchase, Microsoft is heavily encouraging enterprise customers to make the switch to Office 365 ProPlus which employs a per-user subscription model.
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In its Office 2010 roadmap, Microsoft highlighted the fact that Office 365 ProPlus is regularly updated with new features while Office 2019 has had the same features since its initial release in October 2018.
New features, more devices
Most enterprise plans come with Office 365 ProPlus and the bundle includes full versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access and Skype for Business. Additionally, Office 365 ProPlus allows users to install Office on up to five devices including PC, Macs and mobile devices.
In a blog post on Microsoft's site, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, Jared Spataro explained the benefits to upgrading to Office 365 ProPlus in detail, saying:
“Upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus, a product built for today’s challenges and literally getting better all the time, as we continue innovating across—and investing in—the experience. Consider just a few benefits: AI and machine learning to advance creativity and innovation, real-time collaboration across apps, and Microsoft Teams as the hub for teamwork. With built-in, cloud-powered security to protect your data, Office 365 ProPlus also provides the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business will not only be productive, but safe.”
While the on-premise Office 2019 may be the modern equivalent of Office 2010, Microsoft hopes that its new cloud, AI and collaborative features will be enough to convince enterprise users to move to a subscription-based pricing model instead.
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Via ZDNet
