Key Takeaways:
- Office LTSC 2024 offers a non-subscription-based licensing model for commercial and government customers.
- Microsoft has introduced new features such as advanced meeting creation options in Outlook and 14 additional text and array functions in Excel.
- Office LTSC 2024 does not support cloud-based features like real-time collaboration or AI-driven automation.
Microsoft has officially launched Office LTSC 2024, the latest version of Office for the Long-Term Servicing Channel. This release offers commercial and government customers a perpetual license, allowing them to use Office applications without the need for a subscription.
Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC entered public preview for commercial customers on Windows and macOS in April this year. This non-subscription version of Office is designed for organizations with devices without internet connectivity. It’s aimed at regulated devices that can’t receive feature updates, manufacturing process control devices that are disconnected from the Internet, and other equipment that is locked in time.
What’s new in Office LTSC 2024?
Office LTSC 2024 provides access to Office applications, including Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel. This particular release includes new meeting creation options and an enhanced search experience for email, calendars, and contacts in Outlook.
In Excel, Microsoft has added 14 new text and array functions to help users manipulate text and arrays within their worksheets. Users can reference Dynamic Arrays in charts to visualize datasets of variable length. Microsoft has also improved performance, accessibility, and security in Office LTSC 2024.
The latest Office LTSC release lacks support for cloud-based capabilities such as real-time collaboration and AI-powered automation. The company emphasized that Microsoft 365 remains the best option for users needing access to the Copilot AI assistant and cloud-backed security features.
“Microsoft 365 offers the most secure, productive, and cost-effective solution for most organizations, and positions customers to unlock the transformative power of AI with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Especially as we approach the end of support for Office 2016 and Office 2019 on October 14, 2025, we encourage customers still using these solutions to transition to a Microsoft 365 subscription that suits their needs as a small business or a larger organization,” Microsoft explained.
Microsoft says that Office LTSC 2024 will become generally available for all commercial customers on October 1. Customers will be eligible to receive security updates and bug fixes for five years under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft plans to release Office 2024 for consumers on Windows and Mac devices in the coming weeks.