Microsoft Office LTSC Now Available
Effective October 1, 2024, Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 became available to consumers. This new version of Office incorporates most of the features that Microsoft has added to subscription-based versions of Office since 2021. In this article, we explore some of the key aspects of acquiring and implementing Office LTSC 2024.
What’s New And Different With Office LTSC 2024?
Since announcing Office 365 (now generally known as Microsoft 365) in 2010, Microsoft focused much of its development around Microsoft Office on subscription-based offerings. And for good reason. For many consumers – both business and individual – subscription-based offerings are advantageous. These Cloud-connected offerings allow the company to stream new features to users as these new features become available. Thus, users can take advantage of these new features, rather than wait years to gain access to them.
However, in some cases, new features are neither desired nor necessary. Further, Cloud connectivity is neither necessary nor desired in some situations. For instance, very large organizations – or departments within those organizations – may perceive Cloud connectivity as a security risk. Thus, Office LTSC 2024 differs from Microsoft 365 subscriptions in two key areas. First, the application provides a stable feature set, generally devoid of new features being added. Second, Office LTSC 2024’s intentional lack of connectivity minimizes security and stability risk.
Who Should Use Office LTSC 2024?
As indicated above, Office LTSC 2024 is a specialized version of Microsoft Office intended for a very focused, narrow set of users. According to Microsoft, Office LTSC 2024 “offers a locked-in-time version of familiar productivity tools, updated with a subset of features that have been added to Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise over the last three years.” Examples of organizations and departments within these organizations that might benefit from this approach include banks and financial institutions, governmental organizations, and medical environments. Notably, “ordinary” Microsoft Office users will likely not benefit from Office LTSC 2024; instead, they are likely served best through a subscription-based offering of Microsoft 365.
What’s Included In Office LTSC 2024?
Specific applications included in Office LTSC 2024 include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and OneNote. Additionally, Office LTSC 2024 includes Microsoft Access for Windows users only. Also, note that the license agreement for Office LTSC 2024 allows you to install the apps on one device only. This contrasts with the five-device allowance associated with Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Office LTSC 2024 does not provide mobile or web apps, nor does it include cloud storage options (such as SharePoint Online or OneDrive).
Another key characteristic associated with Office LTSC 2024 is the support period. Under Microsoft’s Fixed Lifecycle Policy, Microsoft will support Office LTSC 2024 for five years. Further, it’s important to note that if your organization has been using Office 2016 or Office 2019, support for both these versions ceases on October 14, 2025.
Acquiring Office LTSC 2024
Office LTSC 2024 is presently available to existing customers with commercial or governmental licenses. Further, general availability to all customers begins on October 1. Of course, if you prefer a subscription-based version of Office, you can acquire Microsoft 365 licenses at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365.
Summary
Most Microsoft Office users benefit from the continuous improvement aspect of Microsoft 365 subscriptions. However, there is a subset of users for whom new features and cloud connectivity can present issues. Thus, Microsoft makes Office LTSC available to these organizations. Now, the availability of Office LTSC 2024 means those with specialized needs can access an updated version of Microsoft Office that addresses specific needs.
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