Microsoft Office 2016 (also known as Office 16) was officially released last week, after being teased at the Microsoft Ignite conference back in May. Office 16 is the latest version of Microsoft’s iconic suite of productivity tools and sets a new standard in collaboration, versatility, mobility, and performance. As eloquently expressed by Microsoft’s tagline, the new Office “takes the work out of working together.” Office 16 offers some major improvements to help collaboration in the workplace, saving your staff time and saving you money.
We’ve had some time to get familiar with the changes to Office’s suite of applications, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, and Publisher. We’d like to introduce you to some of the most impressive new features you’ll find in the latest edition:
Co-Authoring and Real-Time Typing
It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting at your desktop computer, writing on your tablet while waiting to catch the next flight back to Ottawa, or contributing from your iPhone at home. Regardless of where you are or what device you are using, you can work with others simultaneously on a document. You can also switch between devices and pick up exactly where you left off. Collaboration and productivity have never been more efficient.
Simplified Sharing
Just click the “Share” button in the ribbon for easy sharing right from your Office documents. See who has access to a given document and who is currently working in the document. You can also easily change individual authoring permissions for any document you own.
Modern Attachments
Attach a document from your recent items and share them from OneDrive or SharePoint with email recipients. Also configure sharing permissions so that all recipients have access to the attached file without having to leave the app.
Mail Triage
Grade A Managing Partner Mathew Lafrance cites this as his favourite new Office feature, especially for busy professionals. “The Clutter feature learns how you prioritize your mail and then helps you by putting low priority messages in a separate folder (while still give you a daily summary so you don’t miss anything). When on the go, you can also take advantage of this capability by using the Focused inbox.”
If you would like to learn more about the new Office 2016 features, check out CRN’s slideshow: Microsoft Office 2016 Preview: 10 New Features That Will Turn Partners’ Heads. If your Ottawa small business is ready to upgrade to the latest in the leading suite of collaborative applications, talk to Grade A to find out more.