The
world or let’s say the computer users have become accustomed to
Microsoft releasing an update to its OS and popular software every few
years by now. So, here comes the latest incarnation of the giant’s
widely used office suite, namely Office 2016. Microsoft has released the
software worldwide for both Mac and Windows users. As expected, Office
2016 comes with a handful of impressive and new features. Whoever, it is
apparent Microsoft is keen on winning back users who switched to cloud
based Office suite of rival Google.
A sneak peak
On
surface, it may look like Office 2016 is a cosmetic makeover of its
predecessor, Office 2013 but that is not the case. It has been
redesigned from ground up to enhance sharing and collaboration features
in unprecedented ways. Office 2016 is more than just an office
productivity suite, in a nutshell. You can obtain advantages of
real-time co-authoring, get search results without using a browser and
do much more. Speaking on the enhancements in Office 2016, Microsoft’s
CEO, Satya Nadella
said, "The way people work has changed dramatically, and that’s why
Microsoft is focused on reinventing productivity and business processes
for the mobile-first, cloud-first world.”
What’s new?
That
is the first question users ask when a new app is released and if it is
from Microsoft, the question becomes a roar! Well, there are many new
features in the suite. Core functionalities of components like Word,
PowerPoint and Excel remain the same but all of them now have
co-authoring integrated. Google Docs users have enjoyed it for quite some time and now Word users will see shared docs being edited real time.
Another big addition is Skype
integration. The popular VoIP service can now be used in entire Office
suite by users. You can now start chat, shares screens and talk without
leaving an open document! Outlook 2016 also has got some upgrades. Users
can now look for low-priority mail and delete them faster.
Microsoft
has focused on data security in the new suite as well. Now, Key office
components including Word and Outlook get in built Data Loss Prevention.
You also get native multi-factor authentication.
The
ribbons are there in each Office component but you get colorful header
rather than white. As per Microsoft’s well known color scheme, Word has
bluish and Excel has a greenish header! It is not exact new since this
was available in Office for iPad.
Microsoft
has realized how important it is for users to share documents real time
and now you can share files without leaving the Office UI. The upper
right section of PowerPoint, Excel and Word now has a Share button. It
lets you share documents through email.
The
age old quirky assistant in MS office suite, aka Clippy paves way for
the successor. It is called ‘Tell Me’. It is there to help you cope with
new features or existing ones. It also has a web based sibling named
Smart Lookup.
Pay one time and own it
Microsoft can win a lot of users with this pay once and own it scheme for Office 2016.
Frankly, a lot of people areas till not okay with the idea of paying
annually for any software, be it a cloud app or desktop suite. You can
pay the price once and that’s all. Of course, pricing for various
editions of office 2016 varies drastically.
Summing it up
Will
Microsoft hit the bull’s eye with Office 2016? Given the plethora of
new features and improvements in the suite, the majority will nod their
heads when asked this question. However, the enhancements and sharing
features are likely to benefit business users more than home users, as
it seems. Those organizations already subscribing to Skype can embrace
the suite. General users with lesser needs can still do well by using
online version of office or Google Drive, for free.
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