![]() Don’t wait for the migration to learn at the eleventh hour that an Excel plug-in doesn’t work, crippling your finance department. Look holistically at the suites you’re considering, how they potentially will integrate within other systems in your organization and anticipate breakdowns and potential fixes or workarounds. How will other systems be impacted? There may be significant changes to programs or plugins that could potentially cause business continuity issues. Take time to understand how internal processes will be impacted by the move to whichever productivity suite you select and how to mitigate programs. Microsoft 365, for example, provides alternatives to a ton of on-premise software. Upgrading to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 provides the more modern subscription-based option (be aware the move to which will impact your accounting department), including all updates, bug fixes and other ancillary functionalities. In terms of licensing, understand that Microsoft 2013 and Microsoft 2019 (if you’re using it as a stopgap) fall under what’s called software-purchase models, meaning licensing is a one-time expenditure (think of it as old-school). You can either cling to legacy platforms and be forced sooner rather than later to have to consider another costly migration, or leap boldly into the future with the latest and greatest without undergoing upgrade cycles and relying on security protocols from giants like Microsoft who have the resources and expertise. ![]() The stronger and more conscientious path is to have a better understanding of the implications and make sound, well-reasoned decisions. It’s a showdown between being caught unaware and moving recklessly and being proactive. But that comes with the inherent risk of no software updates, no support should snafus rear their ugly heads, security holes and major susceptibilities of cyber-attacks because of weakened or compromised security. It’s always an option to not upgrade and limp along under the old system. That may also posit the need to train employees on the new solutions and may impact operations or cause disruptions, especially if vital and necessary planning was not undertaken or executed well prior to the shift. Your employees may push back or churn at the prospect of something new, and your company may find itself forced to outlay time and funding to make necessary upgrades and migrate data - the cost of change. Moving into the future, however, often comes with a cost. And subscription services enable ongoing updates and uninterrupted support from Microsoft teams should problems arise. Adopters will have access to the latest bells, whistles and capabilities like SharePoint and other innovations. But there are some significant advantages: Moving to modern cloud-based platforms, such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, offers significantly better security and greater cross-team collaboration. What, then, are the implications - pro and con - of this end of support and what can IT pros do to ready themselves for life after Office 2013?īeing dragged into the future is often unpleasant for those set in their ways. Phone or chat tech support will also cease, and no further content support updates will be provided and most online help content will be retired. Office 2013 software updates via Microsoft Update will end. Microsoft will no longer provide technical support or bug or security fixes for vulnerabilities, which may emerge, including security updates to protect PCs from harmful viruses, spyware or other malicious software. However, there will exist potential exposure to serious, harmful security risks and other operational problems. With no deadline extension and extended security updates in the offing, all of your company’s Office 2013 apps will continue to function. "Per the Fixed Lifecycle Policy, after this date security updates for Office 2013 will no longer be available."Īt the end of support, the official statement continues, "Microsoft won’t provide any new security updates, and the continued use of Office 2013 after April 2023 may increase your organization’s exposure to security risks or impact your ability to meet compliance obligations." And dire it can be. "After five years of mainstream support, and five years of Extended Support, Office 2013 will reach the End of Extended Support on April 11, 2023," warns Microsoft. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |