In October, Microsoft announced the Creators Update for Windows 10, which is scheduled to launch in early 2017. However, it seems that some major functionality set to be introduced by the update is already being rolled out to members of the Windows Insider program.
On Thursday, Insider members received an update to the Get Office app that is installed as standard on Windows 10. The app is still labeled as Get Office in most contexts — but upon closer inspection in Task Manager, it is actually referred to as Office Hub.
It is rumored that the Office suite is set to be integrated more deeply into Windows 10 as a result of the Creators Update. Users are expected to be able to access content from Office directly from their desktop, using a Cortana-inspired interface that launches from the taskbar or the Action Center.
These plans for deeper Office integration planned for the Creators Update might be corroborated by the fact that Office Hub is a Project Centennial app, according to a report from MS Power User. Project Centennial is a development tool created by Microsoft that simplifies the process of porting Win32 software to the Windows Store, which gives Office Hub access to functionality that a Universal Windows Platform app cannot utilize.
The Office Hub app is fairly limited in its current state, only offering up access to Office apps, recent documents, and support. Of course, the transition from Get Office to its final form in the Creators Update will likely be an iterative process that plays out over the coming months.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Microsoft chooses to incorporate Office into Windows 10. Given the widespread usage of software like Word, Excel, and Outlook in the workplace, it would not be too surprising if this strategy was part of the company’s attempt to persuade enterprise users to leave previous versions of Windows behind.
