Office 2021 Arriving October 5, No Subscription Required
Microsoft Office 2021 is arriving on October 5, and users will be able to purchase it for a one-time fee and no subscription.
While Microsoft has gone all-in on Microsoft 365, it’s subscription-based version of the popular office suite, there are many instances where individuals and companies may not want to be locked into a subscription. For those customers, Microsoft makes Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), for both Windows and macOS.
According to a blog post by Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, Office LTSC offers some performance improvements, but is missing key elements included in Microsoft 365.
Office LTSC is designed for specific scenarios: regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates, process control devices on the manufacturing floor, and specialty systems that cannot connect to the internet. To meet this need, Office LTSC will provide a locked-in-time version of familiar productivity tools. While it offers performance improvements and expanded accessibility, it will not offer the cloud-based capabilities of Microsoft 365 Apps like real-time collaboration and AI-driven automation in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as security and compliance capabilities that give added confidence in a hybrid world.
