2020 looks like being a big year in the ‘end of life’ cycle for Microsoft products. Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 both reach end of support in January 2020 and there is another looming issue with Office 2016.   Recent Microsoft announcements state that they plan to deviate from their traditional life cycle rhythm. Their normal support timescale is 5 years mainstream support, followed by 5 years of extended support during which only security related updates are issued. Released in 2015, Office 2016 mainstream support is due to end in October 2020. Microsoft has confirmed that this will be followed by 5 years of extended support until October 2023; however, in Feb 2018 they announced that Office 2016 will no longer be compatible with Office 365 after October 2020. In September 2018, Microsoft issued a further announcement, delaying this change by 3 years to 2023. In effect, still deviating from the traditional life cycle model but offering users more time to make the transition to their cloud services.

Their statement said:

“In February, we announced that starting October 13, 2020, customers will need Office 365 ProPlus or Office 2019 clients in mainstream support to connect to Office 365 services. To give you more time to transition fully to the cloud, we are now modifying that policy and will continue to support Office 2016 connections with the Office 365 services through October 2023.”

When this change takes place owners of Office 2016 licenses will no longer have access to Microsoft cloud based services, including hosted mail (Exchange) and online storage (OneDrive for Business).

_{How your IT Support provider can help with Office 2016 and Office 365 compatibility issues:} 

Establishing IT system requirements and compatibility issues relating to your Microsoft products can be daunting task. Our technical IT consultants have expert knowledge of these products and the procurement services we offer to our IT Support customers ensure they buy the right products at the right time and put products in place, which will leverage the most ROI for their business. The importance of removing outdated technology from your network in terms of maintaining your cyber security defences are well documented. We provide expert guidance to our IT Support and IT Security customers to plan upgrades in advance to ensure their network remains secure and there are no budget surprises due to overlooked essential updates.

If you need help to navigate these upcoming changes and put a sensible plan in place for your IT infrastructure then our technical IT Support consultants can help.

_{RedMosquito provide IT Support and IT Security Services to SMEs across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and throughout central Scotland.}