Microsoft is heading unabatedly toward a destination filled with cloud services, subscription models and regular updates/reduced support life-cycle. They’ve asked you nicely…but increasingly, your options are limited. MBA IT explain in plain English why you should care.

On Thursday last week, Microsoft quietly revealed (via a Technet Blog) some important changes coming with Office 2019 that will fundamentally affect your Software Lifecycle for both Desktop Operating System and Office Productivity Suite.

To summarise:

• Office 2019 will be released in H2 2018
• Office 2019 will only work with Windows 10
• There will not be a Volume License (MAK/KMS) MSI install available for Office 2019, only a Click-to-Run
• Office is moving to a Support Lifecycle of 5yrs from release and ~2yrs of Extended Support (down from ~5yrs of Extended Support)
• Office 2019 will not be supported on any Windows 10 LTSC release effective 14/01/2020

Obviously, the 2nd point is the one grabbing the headlines, but what do the announcements mean to your business?

• Sounds obvious, but if you want the latest version of Office, you’re going to need Windows 10!
• Office 2010 is still one of the most popular Office versions globally and is moving out of Extended Support13/10/2020
• Office 2013 Service Pack 1 is moving out of Mainstream Support 10/04/2018 and will only receive essential patches and updates after this time (Office 2019 will receive the lion’s share of development time)

• Windows 7 is still massively prevalent on our Endpoints (44.81%) and is moving out of Extended Support on 14/01/2020.
• Are you prepared for Click-to-Run versions of Office? Have you considered incompatibility with MSI installs of other Microsoft Products?

These announcements form part of a trend at Microsoft:

• Reduced Support Lifecycles
• Iterative updates vs. Blockbuster numbered releases and Service Packs
• Strong favour shown to Subscription Models
• Focus on Cloud Service Adoption

Are you ready for the Upgrade cadence Microsoft has planned for you?
What impact might regular updates have on compatibility with other Software?
Do you have adequate deployment and patching solutions in place?
Do you need to look at how you acquire Hardware and Licensing?
Could you time an Endpoint refresh to minimise the impact of OS costs?
Is your CFO prepared for what feels like an inevitable move toward an OpEx-focused model?
Could you supply TCO analysis to help justify such a move?

MBA IT offer services that help pick through Licensing jargon, giving context and distilling everything down into meaningful insights. We factor in Business Objectives, available Commercial options and impact, Lifecycle Management and other intelligence to help give you the tools you require to maximise investment, project plan across multiple years and get clarity on costs (including realising value from existing investments and assets).

How can you take advantage of these services? Please speak to your Account Manager, call us on 020 3815 6680 or drop us a mail to presales@mba-it.com