New Office Clients and Office Servers Announced

At this year's Ignite 2020, Microsoft announced that next year there will not only be new single-user versions of Office for Windows and Mac, but that updates of the on-premise versions of Exchange Server, Share Point Server and Skype for Business are also in preparation. However, a release is not expected before the second half of 2021. Beyond that, the company did not provide any further details, such as naming, editions or prices.

Definitely the current licensing model for the server products will change; a subscription-based license will probably replace the current client access licenses (CAL) for Exchange, SharePoint and Skype for Business.

With the announcement of a new locally installable Office version, without subscription, for Windows and Mac, the already suspected end of single licenses has again moved a step further into the distance. Microsoft has not made any statements about possible innovations.

Source: Microsoft