Microsoft products: 2025 threatens a brutal wave of migration for SMEs
In 2025, many popular Microsoft products will no longer be supported, including the Office versions still most widely used by German SMEs.
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From October 14, 2025, Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 will be without support – and these two versions are still the most popular among German SMEs. A current study by Intra2net shows that a full 70 percent continue to use the program packages. The successor MS Office 2021, on the other hand, has not been able to establish itself, with a mere 14 percent. Even outdated versions such as MS Office 2013 and 2010 have a higher share of 16%.
A comparison with the previous study from 2022 shows that more than half of users of Office versions that have already been discontinued have not switched to a more up-to-date package since then. At the same time, the distribution of Office 2016 and 2019 has not changed. The pressure to migrate will therefore increase from 2025, when over 80 percent will be running workplace software without support. At the same time, support for Windows 10 and Exchange 2016 and 2019 will also end next year.
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Security risks are the main reason for migrating to a new version of Office. Microsoft now prefers to offer its 365 package as a subscription for SMEs, but has not yet written off the classic on-premises installations: There will definitely be an Office 2024, the LTSC version has already been released. For the study, Intra2net surveyed 107 German companies with 10 to 49 employees, with the security provider scrutinizing 1596 PC workstations with Microsoft Office.
(fo)
