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19 Jun Microsoft Office 2016/2019 Reaching End of Life
Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 are now getting to their EOL phase and will be officially receiving no more support after October 14th, 2025. This has many repercussions and things that your business needs to be aware of if you’re using one of these versions of Microsoft Office.
It’s far from gloom and doom, though, as there are a host of more modern options available that you can move onto. That’s why in this article, we’re going to go over what Microsoft Office 2016/2019 reaching End of Life actually means, and what your business can do to move on to the future of Microsoft 365.
Understanding End of Life: What it means for Office 2016 and 2019
End of Life (EOL) is the stage of a software’s lifespan where it stops receiving updates and support from its provider. For Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019, this date will be October 14th, 2025.
From that point, Microsoft 365 will lose:
- Technical Support: Any technical support needed to use Office 2016 or 2019 will simply not be available through Microsoft.
- Security Updates and Bug Patches: Any new security exploit or even just bugs that might reduce performance won’t get patched anymore, meaning they will be a risk for your business as long as you use that software.
- Lack of New Features: None of the new innovations will make their way across to Office 2016 or 2019, meaning that you’ll be missing out on the tools that’ll put you a cut above the rest.
Obviously, in the long term, this can have massive impacts on your business. After all, security vulnerabilities are nothing to be laughed at. With cybersecurity being at the forefront of modern business, this is a massive vulnerability to your whole business and will have an impact on productivity and day-to-day operations.
What are your options?
Continue Using Office 2016 or 2019
Using Office 2016 or 2019 after it reaches the end of its lifecycle is still possible, as the application won’t be shut down or removed. But, for the reasons mentioned above, it’s not a great idea to continue using an end-of-life piece of software, especially for a business.
This is only really an option for the short term, as in the long term, there’s an even greater risk of a security issue or bug that might cause damage to your infrastructure, which would lead to upgrading in the long run anyway, with a lot more headaches.
Upgrade to Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is the next step for Office 2016 and 2019 users. With Microsoft 365, you’ll be able to keep using the same Office applications, but with a fresh coat of paint and better features and security tools.
It’s essentially a 1:1 adjustment, as there’s actually not much that you’d need to change about your current workflow if you don’t want to. But a host of new features and capabilities will be there to help you take your business to its fullest potential, taking the next step into the future, past the world of Microsoft Office.
Move to Another Solution
There is also the option of moving to another solution, away from the Microsoft ecosystem. There are a vast array of tools out there that can help you try to emulate the feature set of Microsoft 365 and Office, but it might be more of a headache to do so.
Why moving to Microsoft 365 makes sense
Microsoft 365 is an industry leader when it comes to office and productivity tools, and is the backbone of the modern workplace, empowering organisations with innovations like Microsoft Azure and Copilot alongside the classic Microsoft Office experience.
There are a host of benefits that’ll come with moving over to Microsoft 365 for business:
- Automatic Updates and Continuous Innovation: Microsoft 365 is constantly evolving, being updated with the latest security updates and innovations as they hit the press. 365 will help you stay ahead of the curve, with zero effort.
- Compliance-Ready: Microsoft 365 is perfectly compatible with modern compliance regulations, with built-in tools to help you ensure that you’re compliant all around.
- Cloud Integration: Fully built with the cloud, Microsoft 365 is designed to help fuel collaboration and productivity, utilising the powerful Azure platform.
How a Managed Service Provider can simplify the transition
A Managed Service Provider (or MSP) is a partner that can assist you in making the move to Microsoft 365. They’ll be able to assist you both in working out exactly what you need and also in implementing it, while also helping you maintain it in the long term. That way, you don’t have to worry about your business’s IT strategy, as it’ll be in the best hands.
Make sure to reach out before making your decision, as we’ll be able to help you weigh up the options and make the decision that’s right for the long-term success of your business. After all, it’s easier to do anything with an extra helping hand.
Next Steps: Planning your upgrade with confidence
Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 might be on their way out, but it isn’t the end of Microsoft Office. Instead, Microsoft 365 provides everything that Office did, and more. So, take the next logical step and start planning your upgrade to Microsoft 365 before October 14th.
Most importantly, reach out to us. We’re here to help and will make sure that you’ve got everything you need to be able to thrive using Microsoft 365. We’ll also make sure the transition over is as smooth as possible.
Get in touch with us now and see how we can help you.