When we consider the future of work, it is apparent that it will be based on and driven by cloud computing. Microsoft is a pioneer in developing technologies that enable our clients' employees to work more collaboratively, productively, and securely. As we evolve into a future where hybrid work is the norm, the cloud offers teams limitless opportunities to connect and create immersive experiences that foster collaboration and development. Investing in cloud-based solutions will continue to be a top focus for us.
We also understand that some clients aren't ready to make the switch to the cloud. We will continue to help our clients in these situations. We previewed Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) for Windows and macOS earlier this year. Today, we're announcing that the next perpetual edition of Office is now available for business and government users.
Office LTSC is developed for specialized circumstances, such as regulated devices that can't accept feature upgrades, factory floor process control devices, and speciality systems that can't connect to the internet. Office LTSC will provide a locked-in-time version of familiar productivity tools to fulfill this demand. While it improves performance and accessibility, it lacks the cloud-based features of Microsoft 365 Apps, including as real-time collaboration and AI-driven automation in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as security and compliance capabilities that provide extra assurance in a hybrid world.
While this will not be our final perpetual release, we will continue to make efforts to make Microsoft 365 adoption even easier for clients. We launched a device-based service for Microsoft 365 in early 2020, which provides a real user-based experience for companies that employ shared workstations. We offered extended offline access later that year to help field researchers, humanitarian workers, and others who are offline for months at a time. Microsoft 365 provides the most productive and secure Office experience available, and we're always introducing new features, such as collaboration, artificial intelligence, security, and more.
Find out more
Visit the Office LTSC overview page for more information about Office LTSC, which is now accessible to commercial and government volume-licensed users. We're also excited to announce that Project and Visio are now generally accessible. Our consumer perpetual product, Office 2021, will be broadly accessible on October 5, 2021—further information will be provided as it becomes available.
