Microsoft Kicks Off Office Insider Program For Eager Beaver Testers

Over the past five or so years, Microsoft has really warmed up to beta testers. More than any other Windows before it, Windows 10 had an incredible amount of community effort behind it, and before the OS officially launched, many complaints and criticisms led it to arguably be the smoothest Windows launch ever.

Of course, even as great as that launch was, Microsoft quickly proved that we simply can't have it all: the OS has a lot going for it, but it's also the most invasive ever. Fortunately, we've got you covered if you want to take steps to best protect yourself, as well as optimize the OS after an upgrade is over and done with.

Microsoft's OSes are not the only piece of software that the company has invited testers to try out. Even the company's development products (such as Visual Studio) have enjoyed preview versions for a number of years, and more recently, Xbox gamers have been able to get on the action, as well.

Now, the company proves that there are really no limits about what people can help it test. The company has just begun bringing its Office suite into the "Insider" scheme of things, allowing those on the desktop or mobile to take bleeding-edge versions of the apps for a spin. An example can be seen at the top of this post, with Excel 2016, but it understandably looks no different than the RTM, as that just released a few months ago. A mobile teaser can be seen below:

Microsoft stresses that those who help it test out the latest builds and their features will help shape the future of Office. It's making it easy to help, too. You simply need to visit the "Additional Install Options" page in your Office 365 account and choose the appropriate option from the drop-down. If you already have Office 365 installed, you don't need to worry about uninstalling the current version first.

Currently, the Insider program applies to the PC/Windows version, as well as Android and Windows Mobile. Support for the Mac OS X version will come in a few months. If you're a business user, you will have to take additional steps to enter into this testing. All information can be found at the link below.