The End Approaches for Office on Windows Server

Update: This report was originally published in May 2022. On Oct. 14, 2022, Microsoft announced an updated support policy that extends support to the Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows Server 2022 until Oct. 2026, the end of Mainstream support for that version of Windows Server.

• Windows Server is losing support for most Office suites between now and 2025.
• The upcoming changes will make it harder to deploy Office to remote desktop sessions or to automate document processing.
• Azure Virtual Desktop may become the only alternative for providing Microsoft 365 Apps in session-based remote desktops.

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, the subscription-based suite of Office applications, is not supported for use on Windows Server 2022 and will no longer be supported on earlier versions of Windows Server after Oct. 2025. Although Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) 2021 will be supported on Windows Server 2019 and 2022 until Oct. 2026, the suite is not equivalent to Microsoft 365 Apps, and it is unclear if future Office versions will be supported on Windows Server at all. (See the chart “Windows Server and Office Support Matrix”.)