This article was originaly published September 21, 2021 with the introduction of Office LTSC 20221. On October 7, 2024, we have updated this article to reflect the release of Office LTSC 2024 (important: no licensing changes).
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For Microsoft, productivity is a ‘cloud first’ strategy. At the same time people at Microsoft know that the cloud isn’t the solution for every organization. So for those organizations who need classic, on-premises client productivity, the new Office 2024 is here.
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Long Term Servicing Branch
Office Long Terms Servicing Branch (LTSC) is the next commercial perpetual version of Office. Following 2021 (starting for sale with a 10% price increase as of October 1st, 2024). This new version is built specially for organizations running devices that cannot accept new features for a long period of time. Think about process control devices or specialty devices that must be locked in time? Without an internet connection even. The new Office LTSC 2024 will be supported for five years, following the fixed lifecycle policy.
Three editions
Office LTSC 2024 will come in three editions:
- Office Professional Plus
- Office Standard
- Office for the Mac
Besides the Office suite of Applications, also Visio and Project will be updated to the 2024 version.
The new Office offers a number of improved functionality already available in Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise and Microsoft 365 Apps for Business.
Cloud or perpetual?
For users in organizations who will be going offline for a longer period of time (up to 180 days) or employees using shared devices, Microsoft now offers a solution with Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise. For those scenario’s, perpetual Office isn’t needed. But for installations on devices which cannot accept feature updates for a longer period of time, the new Office LTSC 2024 might just be your right choice. Need help with the right decision or Microsoft Office licensing? Reach out to one of our certified licensing experts to help you.