Office 2007 End of Life – Time to upgrade

Microsoft Office 2007 End of Life deadlines have already begun to expire, with some parts of the software, like Exchange Server 2007, Accounting 2007, InterConnect 2007 (Standard Edition) and Communicator (Phone Edition) all receiving no further support since April 11th 2017.
Typically, new Microsoft products receive support – including security patches and occasional feature updates – for around ten years after their release date, and the remaining components of Office 2007 are due to expire on October 10th 2017.
Significantly, that includes the main software packages like Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, SharePoint, Visio and Word, along with several other everyday programs installed in offices and other workplaces the world over.
Once the October 10th deadline passes, it will mark the end of ‘extended support’ under the Office 2007 End of Life roadmap, and no further security patches or other updates will be available.
You should not wait until October 10th has passed before you look into updating to a newer version of any Microsoft Office programs you use – if you do, you may already expose yourself to security risks for which no Microsoft patches will be available.
Microsoft’s own guidance states: "Customers who are using Office 2007 products and services should start planning to move to Office 365 or upgrade to supported versions of Office products and services, such as Office 2016.
“Microsoft recommends that customers migrate to current product versions before the support end dates. This lets them take advantage of the latest product innovations and ensure uninterrupted support from Microsoft.”
Comcare are ready to help with Microsoft Office upgrades as Office 2007 reaches its final End of Life date, although with some components already expired, we would urge all current users to recognise that it is already time to upgrade, with less than 12 weeks of extended support still remaining.
We can advise on the best update option – for example, newer versions of Microsoft Office were released in both 2010 and 2013, but the most recent version, which will therefore be supported for the longest time from now, was released just last year in 2016.
As an alternative, you might want to consider transitioning to Microsoft Office 365, the cloud-based version of Office that is automatically updated to the newest version over time; Office 365 ProPlus subscriptions can also include downloaded and installed full versions of Access, Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, OneNote and Skype for Business, so you never have to worry if you lose access to cloud services temporarily.
Comcare can plan and carry out your migration to Office 365 or install updated versions of Microsoft Office software as appropriate – so if you want to make an informed decision with professional support, contact us today.