Microsoft Office 2013 (Archived Report)










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Archived Report:
Microsoft
Office 2013

by Michael Gariffo

Docid: 00011452

Publication Date: 1605

Report Type: PRODUCT

Preview

Microsoft Office 2013 was the last 100 percent locally installed version of
the popular office suite to be offered by Microsoft. It has since been replaced
by Microsoft Office 2016, which provides cloud support
as well as support for multi-touch interfaces. All editions of Office 2013 shipped
with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote with additional applications included
depending on the version purchased. Office 2013 was also made part of Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud offering,
which consists of Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Lync
Online. Available for business and consumer
users alike, Office 2013 provided collaborative and
workflow tools, content management, and enterprise search and business
intelligence tools. This report details Microsoft
Office 2013’s productivity capabilities.

Report Contents:

Description

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Related Faulkner Reports
Microsoft Company Profile
Apache Software Foundation OpenOffice Product Profile

Microsoft Office 2013 was the company’s last edition of its local-only suite
of productivity software, which included well-known applications such as Word,
Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as additional software depending on the version
purchased. The 2013 edition of Microsoft’s suite was very much a  cloud-integrated
solution consisting of collaborative and workflow tools, content management, enterprise
search, and business intelligence tools. Office’s cloud functionality was also
extended through the online storage of documents via SkyDrive, synchronized
collaboration and note taking via OneNote, and a variety of other cloud-based
collaboration and synchronization tools. The software is also fully
integrated with Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based Office version, making it
possible for users to take their settings and documents wherever they go by
simply logging in with their Microsoft credentials.


Vendor

Name: Microsoft
Headquarters
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
Phone: (425) 882-8080
Fax: (425) 706-7329
Web: http://www.microsoft.com/
Type of Vendor: Operating System and Application Software Provider
Founded: 1975
Service Areas: Global
Stock Symbol: MSFT (NASDAQ)

Office 2013 was made available to consumers on
January 29, 2013. Although the basic components of the Office suite had remained
largely the same for more than a decade, the versions included in the 2013
edition did offer some new tricks. 

  • In Word 2013, users could now:
    • Insert audio and video features
    • View in a new read-only mode
    • Collaborate in real-time or asynchronously with co-workers and
      colleagues via the Office 360 integration included with Office 2013.
  • Meanwhile, Excel offered:
    • A Windows 8-styled interface mode with touch support
    • Improved multi-threading support
    • More than 50 new functions and tools for designing presentations.
  • The 2013 version of PowerPoint brought:
    • Windows 8-styled interface elements
    • Office’s new integrated "Ribbon" menu system.

In addition to these revamped standard applications, all versions of Office
2013 also included OneNote, Microsoft’s cloud-based note taking and collaboration
software. All other applications are available as add-ons or as part of the
various editions of Microsoft Office 2013.

The purposes of each of Microsoft Office 2013’s individual software applications are
detailed in Table 1.

Table 1. Office
Standalone Applications

Table 1. Office
Standalone Applications
Product Description
Word Word
processing for creating professional quality documents, collaborating,
and accessing files. 
Access Database
software with ready-to-go templates for tracking, reporting, and
managing data.
Excel Spreadsheet
software with a new
user interface, rich data visualization, and PivotTable views.
PowerPoint Presentation development
software with graphics and formatting capabilities. 
Outlook

A blend of e-mail,
calendaring, and task scheduling in a single program. 

Visio

A solution for creating data-connected diagrams to help users
illuminate complicated text and tables.

InfoPath An
information gathering program that can be used to create and deploy
electronic forms.
Lync Collaboration
software
for connecting with other users, directly from Office and SharePoint.
OneNote Acts as a
cloud-synced notebook for accessing
gathered notes and information. 
Publisher A tool to assist in
creating and sharing publications
and marketing materials.
SharePoint
Workspace
Application
with tools to automate business processes,
build applications on a SharePoint platform, and tailor a SharePoint site to meet
specific business needs.

Table 2 compares Office 2013 to its 2010 and 2007 predecessors.

Table 2. Office 2013 vs. 2010 and 2007

Table 2. Office 2013 vs. 2010 and 2007
Suite Feature Office 2013

Office 2010

Office 2007

The Office Family

Use of a pen, touchscreen, or keyboard New    

Customizable ribbons in every application

Updated

Updated New
Windows 8 Interface

New

   

File management tasks – open, save, and print – with Backstage view

Update New

Word
word processing

Read Mode

New

   

Edit/apply effects to photos without additional software

Updated Updated New

Organize documents using navigation pane 

Updated Updated New

Text effects

Updated Updated New
>
Multiple authors
Updated New

Excel
spreadsheets

Sparklines
data trends
Updated New
Flash Fill ability to import data

New

   
Quick Analysis Lens, Recommended Charts, and Chart Animations

New

   

Color schemes and data bars in conditional formatting

Updated Updated New
Simultaneous editing Updated New

PowerPoint
presentation software

Embed, trim, add bookmarks, and special effects to videos

Updated New
Presentation views

New

   

Color saturation and artistic filters

Updated Updated New

Real-time online viewing

Updated New

Co-authoring

Updated New

OneNote
digital notebook

Capturing and storing of text, images, videos, and audio notes Updated Updated Updated

Linked notes

Updated New

Version Control Tools

Updated

New

OneNote Web App edits

Upated New

Outlook
e-mail and calendar management

Inline reply capability

New

   

Conversation views and ignore features

Updated Updated New

Calendar Preview and Multiple Calendar View

Updated Updated New

Outlook Social Connector

Updated New

Web Apps
document access, editing, and sharing 

Online posting via Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote

Updated New

Remote access and sharing

Updated Updated New
Online Collaboration Updated Updated New

Publisher
professional publications creation and sharing 

Import to a single canvas, and swap via drag and drop

New

   

Zooming, panning, and cropping images

Updated Updated New
Improved start function

New

   

Alignment guidance

Updated New

Printing and print previews

Updated New

Access
databases

Drag-and-drop navigation forms

Updated New

Design, layout, and data analysis tools and reports

Updated Updated New

Macro Designer for automating tasks

Updated New

Applications

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Like all versions of Microsoft’s productivity suite for several decades now, Office 2013
was offered for
consumers, mobile workers, students, and organizations of any size. The
software was available in several suites, including Home and
Business, Home and Student, and Professional.

These editions are detailed in Table 3.

Table 3. Office
2013 Software Editions Comparison

Table 3. Office
2013 Software Editions Comparison
Software
Edition
Target
Customers
Commercial
Availability
Products
Home
and Student 
Private home users and
students 
Retail Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
Home
and Business 
Private home and small
business users
Retail Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote
Standard Business users with
publication needs
Volume Licensing Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher
Professional  Professional offices
(law offices, medical practices, etc.)
Retail Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access
Professional
Plus
Multi-location
professional customers 
Volume Licensing Word, Excel,
PowerPoint,
Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, InfoPath and Lync.

Environment

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Microsoft Office 2013 will not work on
Windows XP or Vista. System requirements are detailed in Table 4.

Table 4. Office System Requirements

Table 4. Office System Requirements

Office Suite

Operating System

Memory (Hard Disk)

Office for Mac Home & Student 2011

Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later.

1 GB of RAM or more.
Office for Mac Home & Business 2011

Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later.

1 GB of RAM or more.

Home and Student 2013

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server R2, or Windows Server 2012.

1 GB RAM (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit).

Home and Business 2013

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server R2, or Windows Server 2012.

1 GB (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit) recommended for graphics
features, Outlook Instant Search, and certain advanced functionality.

Standard 2013

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server R2, or Windows Server 2012.

1 GB RAM (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit).

Professional 2013

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server R2, or Windows Server 2012.

1 GB RAM (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit).

Professional Plus 2013

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server R2, or Windows Server 2012.

1 GB RAM (32-bit); 2 GB RAM (64-bit).

Support

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Microsoft offers users online support for both the individual applications that make up the
Office 2013 line, as well as the various editions of the Office 2013 suites. Users can search
Microsoft’s Web site for answers to the product or suite issues. Users also receive 90 days of
free phone support, while a charge will apply for calls after the free support terms ends. Microsoft also regularly delivers updates and tools to fix issues through its Microsoft Update
service.

Pricing

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Microsoft has ceased selling Office 2013 on a retail basis, as it has been
replaced by Microsoft Office 2016. While the software can still be obtained from
many third-party retailers at the time of writing, pricing is no longer being
determined by Microsoft, and therefore can no longer be standardized. 

Competitors

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Office 2013’s top competitors include Google Apps for
Business, IBM’s Lotus SmartSuite, OpenOffice.org’s Office Suite, LibreOffice,
Zoho’s Zoho suite, and Oracle’s
Open Office.

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About the Author

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Michael Gariffo is an editor for Faulkner Information Services. He
tracks and writes about enterprise software and the IT services sector, as well
as telecommunications and data networking.

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