What the end of Microsoft support means for your licences

“End of support” sounds like an expiry date. It is not. Here is exactly what changes:

In short: the licence you paid for is still yours. What you lose is maintenance.

The dates are those Microsoft publishes on its Microsoft Lifecycle pages.

How to check which version you have: in Word or Excel, open File → Account → About Word (or About Excel). The exact version is shown there.

Not every computer running Office 2019 or 2021 is a problem. You can stay on your current version without much concern if:

• the computer does not receive documents from outside: for example, a workstation on a production floor used to fill in a single internal spreadsheet;
• a specialist program requires exactly this version of Office, and its developer has not yet confirmed support for a newer one;
• the computer is due to be replaced within a few months anyway, and you will change Office along with it.

In these cases, the licence still does its job, and spending money now achieves little.

The risk is not that the program stops working. The risk is that documents are one of the usual ways in for an attack: a fake invoice in Word, an Excel spreadsheet with macros, an attachment that appears to come from a supplier. On a supported version, Microsoft closes these gaps as they are found. On an unsupported version, they stay open.

The risk is higher if:

• the computer receives documents from clients and suppliers every day (accounts, purchasing, sales);
• the company handles personal data or client data that the law requires you to protect;
• a large client, a bank or an auditor asks you to confirm that your software is up to date.

If you stay on an unsupported version, reduce the risk:

• block macros in files downloaded from the internet (the setting is in the Trust Center);
• keep Windows up to date and your antivirus active;
• do not open unexpected attachments straight from an email.

There is no single right answer. An accounting office with complex Excel macros needs Office installed. A sales team that writes quotes and simple spreadsheets can work comfortably in Zoho Workplace.

In our shop you will also find Office 2013, 2016, 2019 and Office LTSC 2021. That is not an oversight. Some companies need a specific version: for compatibility with an accounting or design program, for a computer that never connects to the internet, or to keep a fleet of computers on the same version.

On each product page we show, for information, until when Microsoft supports that version. You choose knowing that.

1. List your computers and note the Office and Windows version on each.
2. Mark the at-risk computers: those that receive documents from outside or handle client data.
3. For those, choose an option from the table above.
4. For the rest, apply the three risk-reduction measures.

If you like, send us the list and we will suggest what to change, computer by computer, with the price for each.