Microsoft announces Office LTSC 2024

 Microsoft releases new version of Office : No-subscription required 

Microsoft announced the release of the final version of Microsoft Office LTSC 2024, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote and Microsoft Access. LTSC stands for Long-Term Servicing Channel and it denotes a version which doesn’t receive feature updates for a long while. As described by Microsoft, it’s a “locked-in-time” version which gets some of the features that were released since the last LTSC release, and it gets five years of support from the time it’s released. Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 has no subscription obligation but is not intended for private home users. Following are the some of the important points:-

Microsoft is releasing Office LTSC 2024 for businesses which don't want system updates, offering security and stability.

Specific commercial customers can access Office LTSC now, with general availability arriving Oct 1st.

Office LTSC doesn't require an internet connection to run and receives no further updates, ideal for sensitive industries like healthcare.

Not everyone wants an app that updates itself with new features and tweaks. In fact, some people prefer that their system doesn't have an internet connection in the first place. This goes double for businesses, who may be dealing with sensitive issues and don't want the risk of hackers or dodgy updates ruining their day. If you're in this camp, Microsoft has some good news: it's making a new "time-locked" version of Office's Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) for 2024. As such, Microsoft Office LTSC versions are one-time purchase, have no subscription obligations, can only be installed on a single device per license and don’t require internet connectivity. However, it’s important to note that Microsoft Office LTSC is expressly meant for companies, not private users, LTSC licenses can only be acquired through volume licensing agreements.

The company ran through its plans on the Tech Community page. If this is the first time you've heard of Office LTSC, it's a special package that gives you all the features which Microsoft has added to Office up until the current year. Once it's installed, it will not change or update; it doesn't even require an internet connection to run. This is a fantastic way for sensitive businesses such as hospitals to use Microsoft's Office tools without worrying about a new update breaking everything or a malicious actor using the internet connection to steal data. Microsoft does put up a good fight for businesses to use Microsoft 365. For instance, it advertises Microsoft 365's Copilot feature to "unlock the transformative power of AI" and states that you can go offline with 365 for up to six months before you log in again. After lengthy praise for Microsoft 365, the Redmond-based company is now ready to admit that there are still good reasons for a non-subscription version of Office. Microsoft writes:-

“Still, we know that some customer scenarios require a different approach. Some devices must never be connected to the internet; others need to remain unchanged for years at a time. We remain committed to supporting our customers and these scenarios.  Earlier this year, we offered a public preview of Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) 2024. Today, we’re announcing the general availability of this next perpetual version of Office for commercial and government customers.”

If a business is adamant about using Office LTSC, they won't have to wait long. Microsoft states that "commercial and government volume-licensed customers" can grab it right now, and Office LTSC 2024 will become "generally available to all customers" on October 1st. Businesses using Office LTSC 2024 can get five years of security and general support under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. For consumers, Microsoft says that it'll share more info on grabbing a subscription-less version of Office 2024 "in the coming weeks."  Microsoft will support Office LTSC 2024 for five years as part of the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. Office LTSC 2024 will not receive any feature updates, only security updates, and it offers the following benefits:-

“Office LTSC 2024 offers a locked-in-time version of familiar productivity tools, updated with a subset of the features that have been added to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise over the last three years. New features for this release include Dynamic Charts and more than a dozen new text and array functions in Excel, enhanced search and meeting creation options in Outlook, and improvements to performance, security, and accessibility.”

Key benefits of Microsoft 365 include the ability to install apps on up to 5 devices, access to web app versions, eligibility for the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on, and 1TB of cloud storage. Microsoft Office 2024 is not yet available for home users.