Microsoft Office 2010 will reach “end of support” status on October 13, 2020. If you still have users working with Office 2010, we recommend you start now on a plan to upgrade to the current version of Microsoft Office.
What does end of support mean?
All Microsoft products have a support lifecycle, during which Microsoft provides bug fixes and security updates. For Office 2010, the support lifecycle ends on October 13, 2020. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide:
- Technical support for issues
- Bug fixes for issues that are discovered
- Security updates for vulnerabilities that are discovered
This also means that future versions of Windows aren’t guaranteed to support Office 2010, leaving users stranded on an older operating system. Because of these effects, we strongly recommend that you upgrade as soon as possible.
What are my options?
We recommend upgrading to a current version of MS Office, which is offered as either a one-time purchase (titled Office 2019) or as part of the Microsoft 365 cloud platform subscription service.
What’s the difference?
The Microsoft 365 subscription service offers several key advantages over Office 2019:
- Updated with new features several times per year
- Each user can install Office apps on up to 5 computers, both Mac & Windows
- Includes access to other industry-leading Microsoft products, such as OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange Online
By contrast, purchasing Microsoft Office 2019 only grants a license to install the software on a single computer, and Microsoft only provides security updates after purchase. However, it does not require an ongoing subscription.
Next steps
Microsoft Office has come a long way since 2010! We believe your users will see significant productivity improvements in areas like collaborative editing, PDF editing, and grammar and spell-check. For more information on the best option for your organization, and assistance with moving to a newer version of Office, reach out to your Net Friends.
