Microsoft Forces Legacy Office Retirement

Did you know as of October 13, 2020, Microsoft is no longer supporting legacy Office clients? What does this mean for you long term?… Essentially all of the hype about Microsoft’s 365 is not just talk, Microsoft is forcing users into the 365 way of life.

Microsoft is doing this by gradually reducing performance and reliability of legacy Office clients. Not only will usability and ease of access become challenging, above all else there is the inevitability of increased security risks and therefore eventual compliancy problems.

Additionally, for example, even if you have a 365 email plan, you will no longer be able to connect to your email through that version of outlook you’ve become so accustomed to using. At the end of the day, Microsoft is saying, if you want to access your email using Outlook you will need the latest and greatest version of Outlook to do so.

What version of the Office suite of products are you using? Will your productivity be degraded? What are your plans for when Microsoft eliminates your capability to function day to day within using the office suite?

As of October 13, 2020, only these versions of Office are supported for connecting to Office 365 (and Microsoft 365) services:

• Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
• Microsoft 365 Apps for business
• Office 2019, such as Office Professional Plus 2019
• Office 2016, such as Office Standard 2016