Microsoft plans non-subscription Office suite for the rest of us

Now available at the Mac App Store

I’m pleased to learn Microsoft intends making a new version of Office available on a non-subscription basis next year, it’s a welcome step that will benefit SME’s left struggling in the post-pandemic chaos.

What Microsoft is planning

Readers with long memories will recall the olden days when you could purchase a perpetual Office license with boxed software. This let you use Word, Excel and all those other standards for one fee.

While you can still get permanent license Office 2019 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) for a striking $150 fee, Microsoft has been trying to pivot users to take out annual Office 365 subscriptions.

Now it seems the company will upgrade the software it sells on the  permanent license, as revealed in a blog post, in which the company said: “Microsoft Office will also see a new perpetual release for both Windows and Mac, in the second half of 2021.”

33 years later

I guess this might be called Office 2021.

The product was first introduced in 1988, making it one of the most long-lasting software packages around.

It’s good news that the company has decided to make the product available on this basis. It means 42.7 million consumer users of Office have an alternative to taking out an annual fee they may no longer be able to afford, post-pandemic (if we ever get there).

In related news, Microsoft has promised a huge collection of enhancements to its Office for Mac package, starting in October.

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