The Blog
Guides, analysis and licensing advice for Windows, Office, Visual Studio and more — from the Software Supplies team.
Microsoft Project · Licensing Microsoft Project 2021 reaches its retirement date on 13 October 2026. Project 2024 runs until 9 October 2029. The gap in licence price between the two is around twenty pounds. That, in a sentence, is the entire decision — but there is one situation where upgrading right now is the wrong […]
Search for Microsoft Access and you’ll find a decade of people announcing its death. The question deserves a straight answer, because there is a real Access deadline in 2026 — it just isn’t the one most of the internet is worried about. The only perpetual route to Access 2024 Office Professional Plus 2024 Access 2024 […]
Lifecycle · UK Buyer’s Guide Microsoft is retiring more products on 13 October 2026 than on any other single day this decade. Office 2021 in every language and edition. Windows 10’s final security updates. Windows 11 24H2. The last of Publisher. Here is every deadline in one place — and what each one actually costs […]
Office Licensing · Buyer Comparison Microsoft 365 Family is sold as a subscription for six people. Read Microsoft’s own product page carefully and you’ll find a line most buyers miss: AI for subscription owner only. Five of the six people you share the plan with get no Copilot at all — and the plan now […]
Windows LicensingAugust 20269 min read Licensing Windows 11 for a small business is simpler — and cheaper — than most owners expect. You don’t need a volume agreement, a KMS server, or an IT department. This guide covers what to buy for a team of two to twenty-five, how to deploy it without specialist help, […]
Microsoft OfficeAugust 20269 min read Office Professional Plus 2024 doesn’t activate through office.com/setup — and that catches people out. It installs through Microsoft’s own Office Deployment Tool and activates directly with your product key, no Microsoft account required. This guide walks through the whole process on Windows, including a paste-ready configuration file. One-time purchase · […]
Most businesses using AI are using it as a better search box. The ones getting real time back have done something different: they worked out which parts of the week were never worth a human brain in the first place, and handed those over deliberately. Before you add another subscription Every AI tool below is […]