Effective 13th October, Microsoft will no longer support users of Office 2013 who utilise commercial Office 365 services. This includes Outlook, OneDrive for Business, Exchange Online, and SharePoint (amongst others).

Much like the end of support of Office 2010’s security updates, Neuways recommends upgrading to Microsoft Office 2019 or Microsoft Apps for Business immediately.

What Does this Mean for you?

Essentially, as of 13th October, any Office 2013 users will still be able to access Office 365 services, but Microsoft will no longer patch exploits or deploy updates to fix critical errors and performance issues.

Those who choose to access Office 365 services will do so at their own risk.

These risks include:

  • Service Outages
  • Cyber Attacks
  • Data Breaches

Continued use of Office 365 services for Office 2013 could mean that your business becomes non-compliant with certain national, industry-based, or cyber security-related regulations.

It’s also worth mentioning that whilst Office 365 services will technically still be available, there is no guarantee that any changes made to Office 365’s cloud services won’t completely sever the link once support for Office 2013 ends.

In this situation, you would need to disable updates or upgrade immediately – and disabling updates is a huge security risk. This is not recommended in any circumstance.

All of these very likely scenarios would incur immensely costly downtime, so a simple upgrade to Office 2019 or Microsoft Apps for Business significantly lowers business risk and guarantees peace of mind.

Which Upgrade Option is Best?

Both Office 2019 and Microsoft 365 Apps for Business are viable options, and the upgrade you choose will largely hinge on the needs of your business.

Office 2019 is a one-time purchase and offers a like-for-like replacement for Office 2013, albeit far more feature-rich! However, don’t expect any feature updates with this route. Also, Office 2019’s support for Office 365’s cloud services will end in 2023, leaving you in the same position as now.

On the other hand, Microsoft 365 Apps for Business is an ongoing subscription service for the Office software suite. The great thing about this upgrade path is that it guarantees your business will always be using the latest version of Office. This means all the latest fixes and a wealth of leading-edge feature updates. You also receive a generous 1TB of cloud storage!

Our general advice is to go down the Office 365 route, but you may have specific needs that require a different option.

If you have any further questions about the end of Office 2010 extended support, or your upgrade path,
get in touch with our technical team on 01283 753 333 or via hello@neuways.com.