In the world of digital productivity, Microsoft Office remains the gold standard. With the release of Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus, many professionals are upgrading to the latest tools while still using the tried-and-true features of Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus. If you own the Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus + Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus for 3 PCs bundle, you’re in a powerful position to optimize productivity across multiple devices. This blog explores how to harness the strengths of both suites for maximum efficiency.
Why Combine Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 2024?
Some might wonder why anyone would use both versions. The truth is, Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus still performs exceptionally well on many systems and offers a familiar interface. Meanwhile, Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus introduces new AI features, collaboration tools, and UI improvements. Using both versions allows you to:
- Maintain compatibility with legacy documents
- Take advantage of new Office 2024 features like AI-powered suggestions
- Distribute workload across different PCs
- Train teams or users transitioning to the newer suite
With the Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus + Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus for 3 PCs license, you get flexibility and value.
Divide Tasks by Version
Use Office 2024 Professional Plus for tasks requiring advanced collaboration, such as:
- Real-time co-authoring
- Cloud syncing with OneDrive
- AI tools in Word and Excel
Use Office 2016 Professional Plus for:
- Local document editing
- Legacy macros
- Printing-heavy workflows
By assigning the right tools to the right jobs, you reduce lag and increase output.
Use Outlook 2024 for Smart Scheduling, 2016 for Archive Access
Outlook 2024 offers better scheduling integration, especially with Microsoft Teams and shared calendars. Use it on your main machine for all active communication.
Use Outlook 2016 to:
- Access old PST files
- Organize archived folders
- Avoid cloud syncing to keep local backups
This setup ensures that you maximize the power of Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus without losing valuable archived data from Office 2016.
Excel Power Moves Across Versions
With Excel 2024, you gain:
- Better Power Query integration
- AI-driven formula suggestions
- Smart templates
With Excel 2016, you get:
- Better support for certain older macros
- Faster performance on lower-spec PCs
You can alternate usage depending on the type of spreadsheet work. Keep data files synced via OneDrive or SharePoint.
Access and Publisher for Specialized Workflows
Access and Publisher are included in both Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus and Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus. Use the newer version when building or editing new databases or publications. Use the older version to test for backward compatibility or work on legacy files.
This dual usage minimizes errors and helps with version control across projects.
Training and Transition
If you’re in a business or team setting, you can use the Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus installations as a training ground. Once users are comfortable, they can transition to Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus.
Use the side-by-side comparison technique:
- Open the same document in Word 2016 and Word 2024
- Compare UI and feature sets
- Identify productivity gaps
This makes onboarding easier and ensures team-wide adoption of newer technologies.
Multitask Using Different Versions on Separate PCs
Using the 3-PC license advantage, dedicate one PC to running Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus and another to Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus. This allows for:
- Side-by-side workflows
- Reduced software conflicts
- Dedicated machines for cloud or offline tasks
For example, run Teams and OneDrive integrations on the 2024 setup while managing local reports on the 2016 PC.
Backup and Redundancy Strategy
Use Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus as a fallback environment. In case of a crash or update issue on your Office 2024 machine, you can still access and edit files without interruption.
Set up OneDrive or Google Drive syncing so files are available on both systems.
Maximize Licensing Efficiency
With a Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus + Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus for 3 PCs bundle, you can:
- Equip a home office and two work PCs
- Give access to family or team members
- Support both advanced and light productivity users
This balance ensures you get full value from both versions without overspending on subscriptions.
Build a Version Control Strategy
When managing collaborative projects, use Office 2024 for the latest edits and track changes. Use Office 2016 to preserve previous file versions. You can:
- Tag files by version
- Use different OneDrive folders
- Avoid overwriting by working on copies
This is especially useful for long-term projects, contracts, or publications.
Stay Legal and Secure
Ensure you install each version using genuine license keys. Link installations to your Microsoft account to avoid future reactivation issues. Also:
- Set updates to manual for Office 2016 to avoid incompatibilities
- Regularly patch Office 2024 for security enhancements
- Use Windows Security features like BitLocker and Defender
Following this ensures your dual-suite productivity system stays secure and compliant.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a freelancer juggling clients, a small business managing teams, or a student navigating multiple devices, the Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus + Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus for 3 PCs license gives you unmatched flexibility. By strategically using both suites, you can unlock greater productivity, reduce compatibility issues, and stretch the value of your investment.
From smart scheduling to multitasking across devices, these productivity hacks empower you to work smarter—not harder. Microsoft Office remains the undisputed king of productivity, and with these dual-version strategies, you’re working like royalty.
