Office 2010 has just recently entered its final year of support and Microsoft is moving to warn users to update. Redmond is urging organizations to upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus. Once Office 2010 reaches the end of its support cycle, no more updates will be issued for the platform.
No updates mean not even for security patches, bug fixes and general tech support. It is worth noting users could choose to migrate to Office 2019 on-premises. However, it is clear Microsoft would prefer organizations to move to the subscription-based Office 365 ProPlus, which is calculated on a per-user basis.
Microsoft’s reasoning for steering customers to ProPlus is that the service enjoys frequent updates. Office 2019 is a license platform that has the same features that it had at launch. IN other words, ProPlus is more like an Office-as-a-service solution.
“Consider just a few benefits: AI and machine learning to advance creativity and innovation, real-time collaboration across apps, and Microsoft Teams as the hub for teamwork,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365.
“With built-in, cloud-powered security to protect your data, Office 365 ProPlus also provides the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business will not only be productive, but safe.”
Extension
In September, Microsoft confirmed it would extend the support window for Exchange Server 2010 cutoff until October 13, 2020. This was an extension beyond the original Jan 14, 2020 end-of-support.
Microsoft says it needed to make the adjustment “after investigating and analyzing the deployment state of an extensive number of Exchange customers.”
It is worth noting that all end-of-support information is in reference to the free support Microsoft offers. The company will continue to offer patches to organizations for a fee after the cutoff date.
