Microsoft is introducing a new permanent standalone version of Office LTSC this year. This version is a slightly simpler version of the cloud-based Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications.
Microsoft has been providing a so-called Office Long-Term Service Channel (LTSC) license version of Office for several years. The last iteration of Office LTSC for businesses and government agencies dates back to 2021 but will get a successor this year, Microsoft announced.
Improvements in Office 2024 LTSC
This new permanent version requires a one-time purchase and offers several functionality improvements. These include new creation options and search capabilities in the Outlook application and quite a few new features in Excel, such as Dynamic Charts and Arrays. The permanent Office version 2024 also offers many improvements in performance, security, and accessibility.
Microsoft no longer includes the Publisher app in the new version because Microsoft has retired it. Also, Microsoft Teams has not been added to this Office LTSC version because users can download Teams as a separate application.
Furthermore, the Office LTSC 2024 version does not have the cloud-based features that Microsoft 365 does. These include real-time collaboration, AI features for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and cloud-supported security and compliance capabilities for hybrid environments.
In addition, the upcoming Office 2024 release also does not have Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 users must subscribe to this these days, but this does not apply to Office LTSC 2024.
Available for Windows and macOS
The new Office LTSC version 2024 is available for Windows (11) and macOS. Windows says it will support the Office LTSC version for five years.
Devices running Windows 10 and the Windows 10 LTSC version can also support Office 2024 LTSC. However, for Arm processor-based devices, this is only possible with Windows 11 as the OS.
Microsoft indicates that the arrival of the new version of Office is in line with the introduction of the permanent Windows 11 LTSC release later this year. The company is also introducing a new permanent standalone Office version for consumers later this year.
Price increase announced
However, purchasing Office 2024 LTSC will soon have a small catch. Microsoft indicates that the cost of this version will go up by as much as 10 percent.
The tech giant states that the latest version has added much new functionality as an excuse for this price increase. In addition, Microsoft indicates—actually the true reason—that Office 2024 LTSC is a special product that companies can use in extraordinary circumstances. Because Microsoft obviously wants to be able to continue to maintain this version and innovate, the prices for this niche product have to go up.
The price increase applies specifically to all versions of Office 2024 LTSC: Office LTSC Professional Plus, Office LTSC Standard, and Office LTSC Embedded. With the final release, the price for all individual applications within this suite will also go up 10 percent.
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