Microsoft Launches Office 2019 for Windows & MacOS
Microsoft mentioned a successor version, ending rumours that this year's release would be the last that does not require a monthly subscription. Microsoft launched Office 2019 for Windows and macOS this week, giving it's most important customers who hold volume licensees - first look at the new office suite.
Also on Monday, Microsoft committed to a successor to Office 2019, ending renewed speculation that this release would be the last outside a subscription.
Office 2019
Office 2019 will roll out, including commercial and consumer customers who buy one-off copies rather than in bulk, over the next several weeks, Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s marketing executive for Windows and Office, mentioned in a post to a blog.
Microsoft categorises software by how it is paid for, discriminating between a license bought one from one that is "rented" because payment is made over time, as in a subscription.
Office 2019 is the licensed form of the suite, called that because it's purchased with a single, up-front fee that in turn gives the buyer the right to use the software in perpetuity. The license has no expiration date and users may run the software as long as they see fit.
The flip side, Office 365 ProPlus, is the same set of applications (which differ depending on whether they run on Windows or macOS) delivered as part of an Office 365 subscription. Customers may run ProPlus only as long as they continue to make payments for the subscription.
Office Pro Plus
Spataro pointed out the differences between the two. "Office 2019 is the next on-premises version of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Outlook, Access, Visio, Project, and Publisher," then went on to say that ProPlus was the "the cloud version."
However, he also put down Office 2019 by announcing its rival, ProPlus, as the better choice. "Office 365 ProPlus ... delivers the most productive and most secure Office experience - with the lowest cost of ownership for management and deployment," Spataro said.
Microsoft's criticism of the everlasting Office has been increasingly explicit, which Spataro continued. "Office 2019 gives you a set of valuable enhancements for customers who can't have access to the cloud or receive regular updates," he argued, as if there aren't customers who prefer an alternative to the frequent feature upgrades given as part of ProPlus.
Office 2019, contains features already available to Office 365 ProPlus users, so breaks no new ground there. The licensed version was built by selecting some of the improvements and new features added to Office 365 since Office 2016's launch three years ago.
Office 2019 the Long-term Servicing Channel (LTSC) version of Windows 10, the OS that stayed feature-static for a decade, overlooking that some customers bought licenses for that reason. they will continue to add new features to Office 365 ProPlus on a monthly basis, including innovations in collaboration, security and artificial intelligence (AI).
Microsoft will continue to offer on-premises versions of its application, Spataro pledged. "We're pleased to confirm that we're committed to another on-premises release in the future," he said without mentioning a release date. (Microsoft has been on a three-year cycle, making an Autumn 2021 launch of "Office 2022" a possiability.)
Office 365
Office 365's price rises were announced in July and took effect with Office 2019's debut. Prices for the Microsoft suite are 10% higher than its predecessor, Office 2016, while the client access licenses necessary to access information on Microsoft's servers will fluctuate between 10percent and.
Microsoft will support Office 2019 for seven years, not the original 10 that they have done historicaly. The suite's support will expire Oct. 14, 2025, the same day Office 2016 gets its retirement plan.
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