Microsoft has made three important announcements related to Office 365 Pro Plus, its premium service that allows users to access Office experiences on up to 5 PCs or Macs and on their mobile devices. These changes can be summarised as follows:

• Changes to Office 365 system requirements
• Improvements to the Office 365 ProPlus update model, including alignment with Windows 10
• New tools and programs to manage Office 365 ProPlus application compatibility

So what does this mean to business users?

CHANGES TO OFFICE 365 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

From October 2020, customers will require a current version of Office installed in order to connect to Office 365 services. Support for legacy versions of Office will end from this date. This move is designed to help Microsoft align its product with some major new feature releases planned for July of this year.

Until this new requirement takes effect, Office 2010, Office 2013, and Office 2016 perpetual clients will still be able to connect to Office 365 services. With three years’ notice being given, Utilize has plenty of time to assist clients in planning and budgeting for this change. But should you have any immediate questions, please get in touch.

IMPROVEMENTS TO THE UPDATE MODEL, INCLUDING WINDOWS 10 ALIGNMENT

Starting from September 2017, the Office 365 ProPlus update cycle will be reduced from the current three times a year to twice yearly. This will align the update cycle with that of Windows 10.

The total support period for Office 365 ProPlus semi-annual feature updates will increase from 12 months to 18 months (starting from first release). So clients will have the flexibility to choose to update either once or twice a year.

NEW TOOLS AND PROGRAMS TO MANAGE APPLICATION COMPATIBILITY

When deploying new versions of Office, application compatibility is a primary customer concern. Microsoft will be launching a new suite of compatibility and readiness assessments tools, which Utilize can use to plan its clients’ software upgrades and ensure a smooth transition.

If you have any questions about your current Office 365 licences or are considering adopting this service within your business, please contact Utilize on 0333 006 9060.