For Office 2016, teamwork is everything

Is it finally time to change the name of Office, Microsoft’s ubiquitous and elder suite of productivity applications? “Office” connotes a singular space, a collection of tasks done by one. But the world has changed around Office, from a disconnected set of work spaces, to networked business and now global operations where the location of one’s office is meaningless. What matters is connectivity and, increasingly, collaborations.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the newest Office, Microsoft Office 2016, is all about collaboration among vastly spread out coworkers who may never meet face-to-face, but easily get more done in an hour than some have accomplished in a 20th century work week. And yet the name “Office” persists. By my estimation, the new suite (which adds the radical Sway, Delve and 365 Planner) might best be called “Collaboration 2016” or, better yet, “Work Together with a side order of Idea Invention 2016.” Read more...