Office 2016 is here

Surprise! Office Suite 2016 is here. And yes, it is “new and improved”, according to support.office.com.

The introduction by Microsoft last summer of its new Windows 10 marked the ninth major version, since its inception circa 1985, of what is still — against all odds — the world’s most widely used operating software for small computers. Consumers were expecting it since 2014 and therefore it didn’t come as a big surprise. Moreover no other major release by Microsoft was really expected this year.

This is why the announcement of the new Office Suite 2016 last month by the company was in a way a surprise. Especially that it was made quickly available; a mere 4 weeks after Microsoft had announcement it.

Many users are still happy with Office 2007, 2010 or 2013, the three previous versions of the famous suite. Given this very regular three-year interval pattern since 2007, perhaps the 2016 edition shouldn’t come as a surprise after all.

Surprise or not here it is, with the usual list of additional features. These are, mainly, about sharing data and documents, friendlier ways to attach files to messages, new chart types, smoother integration with Skype (remember, it was bought by Microsoft back in 2011), and a more powerful data export from Access to Excel. I for one was disappointed not to see any major improvement in Access per se — only minor ones it seems have been introduced.

Are these improvements worth moving to 2016 if you are already happy using the excellent and powerful Office 2010 or 2013? It all depends on whether you consider yourself a power user or a regular one and would benefit from the additions, despite the fact that these make perfect sense anyway.

One point is worth pondering in any case: perhaps Office doesn’t need to be upgraded as frequently as Windows. Indeed, over the years the latter has received significant changes and improvement, essentially aimed at enhancing its stability, its graphic interface and its speed. There is little doubt that Microsoft has succeeded in doing so. However, when it comes to Office, users tend to agree that it has been good and stable since its 2007 edition (only the 2003 and the ones before were seen as somewhat flawed, especially their Access database part). So, why the rush to release a new Office now?

Just like it is encouraging you to upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 to 10, the company wants you to move up to Office 2016. Fair enough, except that in the first case the upgrade is free (at least till December, 31 2015), whereas there is money to pay in the second case. As usual, licences to buy Office are more expensive that Windows licences.

Despite promotional discounts now announced Office remains an expensive product. Arguably worth the money but expensive anyway!

There’s the usual set of categories that are made to better suit one’s needs and business. From the “Home & Student Office” copy to the “Office Professional” one, prices vary from about $150 to $400. Slightly less expensive upgrades are available not only from regular Office versions but also from the online Office 365.

In the end credit must be given where due, and when you think of all that you can accomplish with the set of applications that make Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint, etc.), the product certainly is worth every penny. It’s a whole world of features and functionality that cover an incredible range of tasks and computing needs and it has definitely gotten smarter over the years.

After all the combination of Windows and Office constitutes the very core of personal computing. Naturally, you may want or need to add software products like Photoshop, browsers like Chrome or FireFox, and probably a few others, but Windows and Office remain the pillars on which your computer is built and that help you to work.