Microsoft will offer a public preview version of the next version of the Office client, which will be named Office 2019, by mid-2018, according to a company blog post. Microsoft calls this non-subscription version of Office its “perpetual” client release.
Office 2019 will add features like improved inking (pressure sensitivity, tilt effects, ink replay); new data analysis features like new formulas and charts for Excel; and new visual-animation features like PowerPoint Morph and Zoom. On the server side, Microsoft will be adding more manageability, usability, voice and security features, officials said. Microsoft will provide a more detailed feature list for all of the new releases closer to availability.
Microsoft officials said earlier this week that the company was planning to deliver a new on-premises version of Skype for Business Server in 2018, while starting to migrate Skype for Business Online users to Microsoft Teams.
The features that will be adding to the on-premises versions of Office client and servers are already available or soon will be in the cloud/online versions of the products.
