Press release 2026-10-13
82% of small businesses no longer receive security updates for their Office suite
New SME study by Intra2net reveals slow pace of migration
Tübingen, Oct. 13, 2026 – Support for Microsoft Office 2021 ends today. As a result, 82% of small businesses in Germany will no longer receive security updates for their Office suite. Only one in ten companies has taken advantage of the opportunity to update their on-premises Office suite in the past twelve months. These are the key findings of this year’s SME study by Intra2net (intra2net.com). As in previous years, the groupware and security specialist analyzed data from approximately 1,600 PC workstations in small businesses and compared the results with figures from earlier studies.
Market shares for the legacy Office 2016 and 2019 systems remain stable
Older versions, such as Office 2016 and 2019, still account for a combined installation rate of 60%. This makes them the most widely used versions in small businesses—even though the manufacturer’s support for them ended in October 2025. Furthermore, 7% of companies are still using Office 2010 and 2013, which have been out of support for years.
Office 2024 is being better received
While the migration from legacy systems to Office 2021 has been rather slow in recent years, the picture is somewhat more positive when it comes to the adoption of Office 2024. The software suite increased its on-premises market share from 8% to 18% compared to 2025.
On-premises comes with a sense of personal responsibility
“Starting today, four out of five small businesses are exposing themselves to an incalculable risk. The fact that Microsoft is still releasing patches even for versions that were discontinued long ago, such as Office 2016, shows just how great the pressure is in the market. But that cannot be an excuse to continue waiting,” said Steffen Jarosch, CEO of Intra2net AG.
This year's SME study by Intra2net is based on a survey conducted in September 2026 among 103 German companies with 10 to 49 employees and 1,592 PC workstations running Microsoft Office.
Only companies without Microsoft 365 Business or Exchange Online were included in this analysis.
About Intra2net
Since 2001, Intra2net AG has specialized in security and groupware solutions. These solutions provide companies with effective protection for their networks and help people collaborate as a team. Its customer base includes more than 5,000 small and medium-sized businesses.
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Statistics: Microsoft Office Upgrade 2026 |
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Statistics: Microsoft Office Market Shares 2026 |
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