Microsoft will release Office 2019 within the next twelve months.
The announcement was made today at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando in front of developers and IT professionals attending the annual conference. Microsoft didn’t share too many specifics regarding the next version of its productivity suite, but a post online teases what we can expect.
Jared Spataro, who leads the Office team, said the following:
“Office 2019 will add new user and IT capabilities for customers who aren’t yet ready for the cloud. For example, new and improved inking features–like pressure sensitivity, tilt effects, and ink replay–will allow you to work more naturally. New formulas and charts will make data analysis for Excel more powerful. Visual animation features–like Morph and Zoom–will add polish to PowerPoint presentations. Server enhancements will include updates IT manageability, usability, voice, and security.”
Microsoft also points out that cloud-powered innovation is a major focus moving forward. With a ton of its revenue moving toward cloud-based services, it’s wise for the company to transition Office for the future. Still, Office 2019 won’t be a cloud-only version. It should be useful for customers who want to “keep some or all of their apps and servers on-premises” and those who are running everything in the cloud.
The preview versions of Office products will begin testing in mid-2018, and then the consumer-ready versions are expected to arrive in the second half of the year.
More about Office 2019 will be shared in the months ahead.
