Microsoft releases new version of Office that doesn’t require a subscription

Not everyone wants an app that updates itself with new features and tweaks. In fact, some people prefer that their system doesn’t have an internet connection in the first place. This goes double for businesses, who may be dealing with sensitive issues and don’t want the risk of hackers or dodgy updates ruining their day. If you’re in this camp, Microsoft has some good news: it’s making a new “time-locked” version of Office’s Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) for 2024.

Microsoft announces Office LTSC 2024 for businesses

The company ran through its plans on the Tech Community page. If this is the first time you’ve heard of Office LTSC, it’s a special package that gives you all the features that Microsoft has added to Office up until the current year. Once it’s installed, it will not change or update; it doesn’t even require an internet connection to run. This is a fantastic way for sensitive businesses such as hospitals to use Microsoft’s Office tools without worrying about a new update breaking everything or a malicious actor using the internet connection to steal data.

In the article, Microsoft does put up a good fight for businesses to use Microsoft 365. For instance, it advertises Microsoft 365’s Copilot feature to “unlock the transformative power of AI” and states that you can go offline with 365 for up to six months before you log in again.

If a business is adamant about using Office LTSC, they won’t have to wait long. Microsoft states that “commercial and government volume-licensed customers” can grab it right now, and Office LTSC 2024 will become “generally available to all customers” on October 1st. Businesses using Office LTSC 2024 can get five years of security and general support under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.

For consumers, Microsoft says that it’ll share more info on grabbing a subscription-less version of Office 2024 “in the coming weeks.” And if you can’t wait that long, you can try Office 2024 right now.