If you use Microsoft Office in macOS 10.15 Catalina, there’s yet another reason beyond the lack of Apple security updates to consider upgrading soon. Microsoft has announced that the company’s productivity suite will receive updates only if your Mac is running at least macOS 11 Big Sur. That applies to Office for Mac 2019, Office for Mac 2021, and Microsoft 365 (see “Microsoft Rebranding Office to Microsoft 365,” 17 October 2022). macOS 12 Monterey and macOS 13 Ventura are fully supported.
The October 2022 update (16.66) was the last build of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for users running Catalina. If you continue to use Catalina, your Office apps will still work fine but won’t receive enhancements, bug fixes, or security updates. At some point, that may become a problem.
Upgrading is a pain, I know, but it’s a necessity of modern life. Some of the supporting details in “Why You Should Upgrade (On Your Own Terms)” (4 September 2015) may seem dated, but its key points are as valid now as they were 7 years ago.