[WinPartners] IS&T recommends Microsoft Office 2013 with SP1

[Alexander Kozlov]

Good Afternoon,

Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) now recommends Microsoft Office 2013 with Service Pack 1 (Office 2013 SP1) for Windows. IS&T will continue to provide assistance for Office 2010 until October 2015, the mainstream support end date set by Microsoft.

There are several key factors to consider before installing Office 2013 SP1:



-          Existing Office 2013 users will get Service Pack 1 automatically installed via MIT WAUS or Microsoft Update.


-          Office 2013 SP1 uses a licensing mechanism that requires activation via the MIT Key Management Server (KMS). For Office 2013 SP1 to remain active, your machine will need to connect to the MIT network at least once every 180 days. For off-campus activation, you will need to connect via VPN<http://ist.mit.edu/cisco-anyconnect/all>.


-          IS&T strongly recommends using the 32-bit version of Office 2013 SP1 on ALL computers running Windows operating systems, regardless of whether the Windows OS is 32-bit or 64-bit. This is due to issues with plug-ins and backward compatibility. More information on compatibility can be found in the MIT Knowledge Base<http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/kKIBCQ>.


-          As with most new versions of software, Office 2013 SP1 comes with an associated learning curve. IS&T offers training on Office 2013 SP1 via lynda.mit.edu<http://lynda.mit.edu/>; for more information, see the related Q&A in Hermes<http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/bACt>.


-          Make sure that your department, lab, or center is ready to support Office 2013 SP1.

For a full list of system requirements, installation instructions, and notable features, see the Office 2013 at MIT page<https://ist.mit.edu/office/2013/win>.

How to Obtain
MIT offers Microsoft Office 2013 SP1 through the Microsoft Campus Agreement at no direct cost to departments, for faculty and staff use, and for students. To learn more about MSCA policies with respect to students, see the Microsoft Campus Agreement: Overview page<http://ist.mit.edu/services/software/msca/overview#students>.

You can download Office 2013 SP1 from the Office 2013 at MIT page<https://ist.mit.edu/office/2013/win>. In order to install Office 2013, first unzip the contents of the Microsoft_Office_Professional_Edition_2013_SP1_32bit.zip file into a separate folder and then run the setup-MIT.cmd.

Getting Help
If you need assistance installing or using Office 2013 SP1, contact the IS&T Help Desk at 617.253.1101 or helpdesk at mit.edu<mailto:computing-help at mit.edu>. You can also submit a request online<http://ist.mit.edu/support>.

For more information on Office 2013, see the Office 2013 at MIT page<http://ist.mit.edu/office/2013/win>.



_____________

Alexander Kozlov
Windows Platform Coordinator
Software Release Team
Information Services and Technology
W92 - 114PG
(617) 253-5103