As we approach year-end, many firms are well into their annual processes for reviewing budgets and planning system upgrades, in part to determine which upgrades make sense for the following year. Microsoft Office, or Microsoft 365 Apps as Microsoft now calls it, is a system many firms are targeting for an upgrade and as they do, they are wondering about the system requirements to move from 32-bit Office to 64- bit Office.
Related and of interest, per recent ILTA surveys, some firms that upgraded Office as part of a Windows 10 deployment stuck with the 32-bit version of Office instead of moving to 64-bit Office. According to the 2020 ILTA survey, more than 30% of all firms, and nearly 50% of mid to large size firms, stayed with 32-bit Office.
Microsoft continues to develop and support the 32-bit version of Office, but it is well documented that they recommend all customers move to the 64-bit version of Office whenever possible. The 64-bit version provides performance improvements as well as a reduced frequency of technical issues. During the last few years, there have been numerous issues with 32-bit Office that are resolved in 64-bit Office, some of which Microsoft has stated they do not plan to fix in the 32-bit version. The most notable of these is the black display issue across all Office applications, something Kraft Kennedy has written about previously. This specific issue alone has been enough for Kraft Kennedy to recommend and deploy the 64-bit version of Office to firms of all sizes.
In years past, the ability to switch to 64-bit Office has come down to a firm’s Office add-ins and their support for the 64-bit version. However, as 64-bit Office has become ever more prevalent, it has been some time since Kraft Kennedy has come across an add-in that can’t be used with 64-bit Office. To that end, Kraft Kennedy has provided the survey below, powered by our AppBakery portal, to determine if your environment is ready for 64-bit Office.
Find out if you’re ready: https://forms.kraftkennedy.com/office-upgrade-readiness/
