Microsoft recently released Office 2019, the first major update to the standalone version since Office 2016. For those looking to upgrade, your options consist of the traditional offline Office 2019 license or the subscription-based Office 365.

First introduced in 2013, Office 365 caused some confusion as most were used to the traditional Microsoft Office software that you purchased periodically for a one-time fee, with the most recent version providing the newest functionalities.  As we move towards a cloud-based environment, we expect to see a shift towards subscription-based service models. Embracing this move offers numerous long-term advantages.

  • Collaboration
    Because Office 365 is connected to the Microsoft cloud, you’re able to collaborate on files in real time with Microsoft Teams. The ability to edit documents online together, sharing notes while having an audio/video conference to discuss changes in real time are possible—even when team members are miles apart.
  • Security
    Subscription models ensure you’re continuously running the most updated version of the software possible. With a subscription-based software such as Microsoft 365 for Business, the newest security measures and time-saving features are automatically updated as soon as they’re rolled out. The offline 2019 version will only get security updates with Windows Updates. While Microsoft promises to keep Office 2019 secure its clear they are more invested in the development of the Office 365 suite.
  • Cost Scalability
    Utilizing a subscription-based service allows for flexibility not available with a traditional license model. As companies add and remove employees, subscriptions can simply be canceled without the need for permanent commitments.  This allows the business to scale more easily as a software license does not need to be purchased for each new employee.

The Bottom Line
If you collaborate with team members on Office documents in any way, Office 365 is the way to go. If you don’t, ever, you can consider Office 2019, but the writing seams to be on the wall. The next version of Office may only be released as the subscription / cloud-based Office 365.