Microsoft introduces Office 2021 for Windows, macOS

Microsoft said its Office 2021 will be supported for five years.

Microsoft releases commercial preview of Microsoft Office LTSC (REUTERS)

Microsoft on Thursday announced the launch of Office 2021. The suite of Microsoft apps will be available later this year for Mac and Windows users. The version is for users who do not prefer the cloud version of Microsoft 365.

Microsoft also plans to roll out Office 2021 for small businesses and personal users later this year. “Office 2021 will also be supported for five years with the traditional “one-time purchase” model. We do not plan to change the price for these products at the time of the release. We will announce more details about new features included in Office 2021 closer to general availability,” the company said in a blog post.

According to Microsoft, both Office LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) and Windows 10 LTSC will be governed by its Fixed Lifecycle Policy. The company will provide support for five years. Microsoft pointed out that Office LTSC will have only a “subset of the value” available in Microsoft 365 apps as it does not have access to the cloud.

New LTSC features, however, will come with some key features such as dark mode support, better accessibility, and performance improvements in apps like PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, and Excel. It is worth noting that the next version of Office will not come with Skype for Business client application. The company will instead bundle Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft's new Office product comes as the company is heavily investing in its cloud-based offerings. The company last month reported that its Azure cloud computing services had grown by 50%. The adoption of cloud products was driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a shift to work from home and remote learning.

In another cloud-related development, Microsoft has partnered with Bosh to develop software solutions for vehicles. Earlier, Volkswagen said it would use Microsoft's cloud services for its self-driving solutions.