Microsoft Office has proven to be the best choice for office work for decades, but it is now being rebranded.

After more than three decades, the software suite is changing its name and icon in November.

The announcement

Bill Gates introduced Microsoft Office to the world all the way back in 1988.

Since then, it has undergone many changes over the years, including removing the Clippy assistant, which divided users.

According to Microsoft, the company thinks it’s time for a rebranding with a new name, icon, and look.

The website wrote:

“Over the last couple of years, Microsoft 365 has evolved into our flagship productivity suite, so we are creating an experience to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365.”

“In the coming months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will become the Microsoft 365 app, with a new icon, a new look, and even more features.”

Changes

Microsoft’s changes will arrive next month, and Office.com will be the first to go through rebranding.

The Office app for Windows and Mobile will be rebranded in January 2023.

However, the names of individual programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint remain the same.

Microsoft assured customers that their accounts would not be affected by the changes.

The company said an update would only change the icon and name automatically.

Microsoft also announced that the Microsoft Office brand isn’t going away anytime soon.

The software suite continues to offer one-time purchases of the Office suite through Office 2021 and Office LTSC subscriptions.

Time and technology

The Microsoft Office rebranding announcement came months after the company shut down Internet Explorer.

The web browser has been around for nearly 30 years.

Although it has been revised in recent years, Internet Explorer was once loved.

It arrived in the mid-1990s as part of an add-on package for Windows 95.

For years it has been the most popular web browser, as 95% of people online used it to access the internet in 2003.

However, newer, more innovative and faster browsers soon emerged, eclipsing Internet Explorer.

The last update was in 2013, before Microsoft replaced the browser with Edge in 2015.

In June 2022, Internet Explorer joined Clippy and Power Pup in its complete retirement.

Reference:

Microsoft Office is getting renamed after more than 30 years