As of October 13th 2020, Microsoft officially ceased providing updates or support for Office 2010, in line with their 10-year commitment to providing tech support for their products.

This doesn’t mean that Microsoft Office 2010 will stop working, or that any files will be lost. It does however mean that the program will become more and more vulnerable to both outside threats and internal faults over time, which isn’t an ideal situation for a business to be in.

As recently as 2017, 83% of businesses were running Office 2010, and quite a few continue to do so. What then should such an Office 2010 user do?

If your business is currently using Microsoft Office 2010, what’s the next step?

The easiest way to avoid any potential issues is to upgrade to Microsoft 365. As Microsoft’s software as a service (SaaS) Office product, this cloud-based tool receives continual updates, while also offering better collaboration, remote access and back-up features. The layout of the individual Office tools stays much the same, but the back-end of the software has been greatly improved.

Doing so is a seamless process. We can help you find the right Office 365 product for your business and lead you through the installation process. All of your current Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office files will be saved, and can be opened with the updated software.

Are there any other options?

There are a couple of other options available to businesses looking to upgrade from Office 2010:

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2019

Office 2019 is the updated version of Office 2010. Unlike 365, it isn’t a SaaS product, but unlike 2010, you do need to have an internet connection in order to install and use it. Office 2019 has the following drawbacks compared to Office 365:

• No new features post-October 2018 (unlike Office 365, it does not include OneNote, SharePoint Designer, InfoPath, etc.)
• Not supported by Windows 7 or Windows 8.1
• Can only be installed on the system (C:\) drive, not network drives

Use Office on the web

Microsoft grants users free access to Office tools via its Office on the web service, although functionally this version is incredibly restrictive.

Switch to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)

On the more extreme end of the scale, if you have been considering a complete change of business software and can see a good reason to do so, now may be the time.

Google’s answer to Office 365, Google Workspace – previously known as G Suite – offers a similar selection of business tools. While the functionality is similar, the layout is a little different, and converting from one file type to the other, (e.g. a docx to a Google Doc) can be messy.

Also keep in mind that it’s wise to consult your IT partner before making any drastic changes to your business software suite as there are a number of other considerations to be had beyond the software usability such as cybersecurity, network configuration and data backup procedures and processes to be considered.

To learn more about the end of Office 2010 support, or to discuss any other computing need you might have, get in touch with the friendly team at OneCall today!