Whenever the release of a new version of Microsoft Office is imminent, the question I keep getting asked is: “Should I upgrade?” and after many years my answer has almost always been: “That depends.”
Not since the release of Office 97 – however many years ago that was – have the changes to a version of Office been so significant to warrant an unconditional “Yes, upgrade now!
From Office 97 to Office 2003, the accumulation of some minor but useful new features over two or three versions were the main reason to upgrade, but more practical was the need maintain compatibility with other users or other software. Office 2007 changed the game and
looking at Office 2007 more generally, for anyone who needs to use graphics, then the new SmartArt options make the diagrams in earlier versions look very limited and insipid. But Office 2007 wasn’t just about good new functionality. In fact, it wasn’t at all about functionality. Office 2007 was all about the ribbon and the complete change in the user interface that the ribbon implied.
So, for Office 2007, there were certainly features that would make upgrading worthwhile for many users, but that you needed to consider the implications of a complete change in the user interface. It wasn’t just an upgrade that you could inflict on users without them really noticing. There was pain to balance the gain The ribbon interface is still there in Office 2010 and has spread to Outlook and the rest of the portfolio. But my my answer to the upgrade question is as close to an unequivocal “Yes” as I’m likely to get. This positive view is mainly down to Outlook, the Office application I use most.