As of April 11, 2023, Microsoft will cease supporting Office 2013. The determination to finish help for Office 2013 ought to come as no shock. Over the previous a number of years, Microsoft has been slowly ending help for its one-time buy merchandise to encourage adoption of subscription-based options. With all that’s altering, IT groups have rather a lot to contemplate as they resolve the way to proceed.
For many organizations, transitioning to Microsoft 365—the cloud-based productiveness suite that can really feel most acquainted to Office 2013 customers—makes essentially the most sense. However, no matter which suite corporations change to, migrating to a brand new answer requires cautious planning and consideration. To inform their determination, IT leaders ought to establish the alternatives and challenges forward and perceive one of the best practices to comply with for profitable migrations.
Benefits of switching to a contemporary productiveness
Though end-of-life transitions may be disruptive for companies and finish customers, the shift will profit some enterprises. Since instruments like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are cloud-based, customers get all of the bells and whistles from the most recent model of the software program as an alternative of being caught with the options out there from the one-time funding. IT groups that change to a cloud-based choice received’t need to pay for periodic upgrades of bodily software program or miss out on the latest-and-greatest options since they’ll get the newest model robotically with their subscription.
Beyond having essentially the most up-to-date instruments at their fingertips, corporations will profit from enhanced safety protocols. With Microsoft 365, corporations can make the most of the most recent options Microsoft provides. As IT leaders know, safety is advanced and doubtlessly costly from a price and administration standpoint. Being in a position to leverage Microsoft’s appreciable sources and experience—relatively than managing safety internally—is a major benefit.
Challenges of transitioning from Office 2013
Switching to a complete new productiveness suite isn’t with out its potential issues. Software end-of-life deadlines usually pressure corporations to make an unplanned transfer as an alternative of a proactive change—which may imply the migration course of is lower than supreme. Enterprises will even have to expend finances to entry Microsoft 365 or one other enterprise productiveness software program. They’ll additionally need to stability the price of coaching staff on the brand new system and lowered productiveness as employees alter to the brand new platform.
Despite the disruption that comes with transitioning to a brand new productiveness suite, the dangers of constant to make use of Office 2013 past its finish of help are far larger. Using a product that’s now not being up to date or supported might look like a great way to keep away from added expense and headache, however it could actually really trigger greater issues down the road. Going with out software program updates and help means bugs received’t get fastened, which implies potential publicity to safety points. If one thing doesn’t work correctly in Office 2013 after help ends, Microsoft received’t be capable of assist.
Given some great benefits of Microsoft 365 and different cloud-based choices, migrating to a brand new productiveness suite is a brilliant long-term funding. But migrations aren’t all the time straightforward or simple. Implementing a change that requires a giant adjustment in the best way individuals work may trigger extra resistance and end in frustration, points finishing duties and lowered adoption charges. Knowing what to anticipate forward of time will help counter these points.
What to anticipate earlier than migrating
First, perceive that shifting from Office 2013 to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace means a shift from a software program buy mannequin to a subscription-based mannequin. A shift in fee strategy may have an effect on firm money circulation and finances, so the enterprise might have to flag this for his or her accounting division.
Another essential consideration earlier than starting a migration is how different inner programs can be impacted by the transition. Consider if and the way essential plug-ins and important instruments will work with the brand new answer. For instance, corporations that leverage a software like Salesforce will need to understand how the combination can be impacted by a brand new software.
Finally, don’t underestimate the worth of preparation and coaching. Taking the time to put together for the migration and develop a sensible coaching strategy is important to success. Before getting began, IT leaders ought to search for locations the answer may have issues through the improve, to allow them to deal with them upfront. If wanted, IT groups can put alternate instruments in place that might both change particular functionalities or function an alternate answer.
Once the brand new productiveness suite has been chosen, IT employees can use the next steerage to make sure the migration course of is easy.
Plan forward
Planning is important to seamlessly migrate from one ecosystem to a different, since no two ecosystems are utterly similar. In advance of the migration, IT professionals ought to acquire a agency understanding of the variations between Office 2013 and the brand new answer. This information can be helpful for creating coaching applications and lifelike, complete migration timelines. It additionally provides IT leaders time to resolve any compatibility points that might come up between the brand new software and present integrations the corporate depends on.
By creating a plan, IT employees can gauge how a lot information must be moved, the place it must be moved and what timeframe it must be moved in. “Ultimately, companies can rely on the the channel to support end users during this process—helping them to more accurately plan their data migration, so no problems arise,” stated Lon Clark, world channel gross sales director at BitTitan. “With proper planning and procedures in place, end users can mitigate risks and setbacks that can occur with migrations, helping to ensure daily operations don’t get disrupted and allow them the opportunity to plan for the change ahead.”
Pilot with totally different teams
Planning forward additionally permits time to pilot the brand new software program with inner customers to see what hiccups emerge and alter accordingly. IT leads can conduct pilots with totally different teams throughout the group—similar to HR, accounting, gross sales, and so on.—and compile findings to uncover frequent ache factors. Results ought to be shared broadly, in order that persons are conscious of challenges they could encounter and really feel like they’re a part of the method of selecting the brand new answer.
Predict surprises
If the pilot section reveals that almost all of the corporate shouldn’t be proud of the brand new suite, IT leaders can take into account an alternate choice. For occasion, some corporations might uncover that shifting to a browser-based answer merely doesn’t work for the group and impedes staff from being productive. Choosing the suitable answer from the get-go prevents potential roadblocks and can save corporations cash in the long term.
Procure the suitable instruments
Migration instruments can function lifelines to make sure the transition is profitable and minimally disruptive for finish customers. The good thing about utilizing a migration answer is that IT groups received’t have to expend extra time and power studying the way to carry out the migration. Migration options are additionally designed by specialists, leaving much less room for error within the course of.
Prepare staff
Accessible, company-wide coaching is without doubt one of the most essential parts of a migration. Once the corporate has migrated to the brand new answer, IT groups ought to provide trainings to staff who aren’t accustomed to it. This will guarantee everyone seems to be on the identical web page and conscious of what’s altering. It additionally creates a deeper understanding of what it means to change platforms and the way workflows might change with the brand new software. Training also needs to embrace sources and ongoing help that staff can use as wanted through the transition.
Laying the groundwork now
With help for Office 2013 ending in only a couple months, IT groups can start laying the groundwork to transition to a different productiveness suite. Cloud-based choices provide extra safety and simpler cross-team collaboration, along with giving enterprises entry to the latest-and-greatest model of the platform. Preparing upfront and following greatest practices will defend corporations from frequent challenges that might hinder the success of their migration.
By Frank Suglia, VP of technical providers at BitTitan