As advised in a previous CyberGuru blog article, Microsoft will end support for Microsoft Office 2010 and Office 2016 for Mac on 13 October 2020. Whilst Microsoft Office 2013 is still supported, it is possible that connectivity over time will be reduced for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft is ending support for Microsoft Office 2010 (link opens in new window) and Office 2016 for Mac (link opens in new window) on 13 October. Microsoft will no longer provide technical support, bug fixes or security fixes and vulnerabilities that are reported. Whilst the apps will continue to operate, using Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2016 for Mac after this date will pose a cybersecurity risk.
The decision by Microsoft (link opens in new window) to end support was predominately security related. Microsoft have advised that they “will not (take) active measures to block older Office clients, such as Office 2013 and Office 2010, from connecting to Office 365 services. However, legacy clients attempting to connect to a modern, always up- to- date cloud service may experience performance and reliability issues. Customers will face an increased security risk, and may find themselves out of compliance depending on specific regional or industry requirements. Microsoft Help may not be able to resolve issues that arise due to unsupported service connections.”
We recommend that anyone still using Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2016 for Mac upgrade their licenses before the 13 October cut-off. Transitioning to Microsoft 365 Business would provide the most optimal experience, although Microsoft Office 2019 and Office for Mac 2019 are also currently supported. Those clients using Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Office 2019, Microsoft Apps for Business or Microsoft Apps for Enterprise can continue to do.
CyberGuru is available to assist with transitioning you to Microsoft 365 and provide the necessary consulting, training and support to be able to take full advantage of what the modern desktop and the benefits that cloud services provides.