Well, what do you know! There were whispers that Office 2019 would be the last version of the productivity suite to be offered with a perpetual license, but there is now word that this is not the case.
Word straight from Microsoft that a new version is on the way.
The software titan confirmed this at Ignite earlier this week, without going into too much details as the project is still in the works:
“Today we are announcing that the next versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Skype for Business Server and Project Server will be available in the second half of 2021, and are only available with the purchase of a subscription license. Subscription entitles access to support, product updates, security and time zone patches.
Microsoft Office will also see a new perpetual release for both Windows and Mac, in the second half of 2021. We will share additional details around the official names, pricing and availability of all these products later.”
Following the now established three years cadence, this latest iteration of Office will be available for Windows and Mac. Though it merits a mention that the company has not named the product just yet. But based on what we have seen, it might be called Office 2022.
All this, while Office 365 has become quite a cash cow for the Redmond, especially during these difficult times when more and more people are working from home.
Collaborative tools, as a result, are a must.
And although most users now prefer to get Office via a Microsoft 365 subscription that also includes other benefits like OneDrive cloud storage, some consumers, students, and businesses still prefer to purchase Office the old-fashioned way, with a license that they own forever.
As of this writing, a perpetual license for Office Home & Student 2019 costs $149.99.
