Office 365

Microsoft has gone out of its way to making the Office 2016 and Office 2019 connections to Microsoft 365 services unclear and confusing.

Microsoft has publicized that Office 2016 and Office 2019 users would be losing Microsoft 365 service connections before the end of Office product support for many years. Possibly, Microsoft isn't obligated to address connections with Microsoft 365 services with the two perpetual-license Office products because Microsoft 365 services have a more arbitrarily defined support model under Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Support policy. Practically, this means that as we make updates to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 services, we will not be building around the constraints inherent in the older perpetual Office clients that are already out of mainstream support. This loss of this mainstream support may make the Microsoft 365 service connections iffy for the Office 2019 product. On that date, Office 2019 will fall out of mainstream support, which means that Microsoft ceases to develop and add new features to it. In a July Redmond article, I reported on Microsoft's plans to cut off Microsoft 365 service connections for Office 2016 and Office 2019 users, starting in Oct. 2023.

Microsoft appears to be deliberately trying to confuse the public on Office 2016 and Office 2019 connections to Microsoft 365 services.

Microsoft has publicized that Office 2016 and Office 2019 users would be losing Microsoft 365 service connections before the end of Office product support for many years. Possibly, Microsoft isn't obligated to address connections with Microsoft 365 services with the two perpetual-license Office products because Microsoft 365 services have a more arbitrarily defined support model under Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Support policy. Practically, this means that as we make updates to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 services, we will not be building around the constraints inherent in the older perpetual Office clients that are already out of mainstream support. This loss of this mainstream support may make the Microsoft 365 service connections iffy for the Office 2019 product. On that date, Office 2019 will fall out of mainstream support, which means that Microsoft ceases to develop and add new features to it. In a July Redmond article, I reported on Microsoft's plans to cut off Microsoft 365 service connections for Office 2016 and Office 2019 users, starting in Oct. 2023.

A new dashboard will make it easier for admins to monitor employee usage and satisfaction.

This is where recent advisories and incidents will be highlighted, too, which will help companies to monitor service health. Furthermore, any self-help articles that users refer to will no longer be kept a secret, in the hope that companies can build resources to better facilitate their staff so that they do not need to refer to Microsoft’s help pages. Microsoft is rolling out a new dashboard that will highlight metrics like usage, in-product feedback, and Net Promoter Score values, in a move the company hopes will help make monitoring usage easier for IT admins.

Company goes back on initial block on using Office 2016 and 2019, but warns users about potential Microsoft 365 issues.

The company has been attempting to encourage upgrading to Windows 11 for some time - although the latest figures from AdDuplex show Windows 11 is running on just 23.1% of PCs. Over time, they may run into unexpected issues." "Practically, this means that as we make updates to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 services, we will not be building around the constraints inherent in the older perpetual Office clients that are already out of mainstream support," Microsoft told ZDNet. "Customers will not be blocked in connecting, but they may not get the full value out of new investments in our cloud services.

Microsoft says it will continue to support Office 2016 and Office 2019 on Microsoft 365 back-end services beyond their cut-off.

“Practically, this means that as we make updates to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 services, we will not be building around the constraints inherent in the older perpetual Office clients that are already out of mainstream support. “Microsoft will NOT be blocking supported and up-to-date Office clients from connecting to M365 cloud services. It seems Microsoft is willing to support perpetual Office customers long term. According to Microsoft, it will stop access to Microsoft 365 back-end services next year (2023). This is two years before Office 2016 and Office 2019 reach end of support. Office 2013 is going to be cut off as it ends support on April 11, 2023. However, the company is also willing to keep supporting those who are holding onto the perpetual (non-subscription/cloud) versions of Office. That includes cooling fears customers on Office 2016 and Office 2019 were to be left behind.

Yesterday Microsoft came out stating that connectivity support for Office 2016 and 2019 to current Microsoft 365 apps could end as soon as October 2023.

Practically, this means that as we make updates to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 services, we will not be building around the constraints inherent in the older perpetual Office clients that are already out of mainstream support. While Office 2016 and 2019 should still connect to Microsoft 365 beyond October 2023, the company is not guaranteeing that they will do so without issues, and in fact, is implying that there will be issues beyond its support control. Note: Office 2019 and Office 2016 will be supported for connecting to Microsoft 365 (and Office 365) services until October 2023.