Microsoft Office 2019 to be released in 2018

The next version of Microsoft Office -- Office 2019 -- will be released in the second half of 2018 and its previews will start shipping mid-year.

The release will include perpetual versions of the Office apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and servers including Exchange, SharePoint and Skype for Business, Microsoft said in statement late on Tuesday.

Office 2019 will add new capabilities for customers, including improved inking features like pressure sensitivity, tilt effects and ink replay.

"New formulas and charts will make data analysis for Excel more powerful. Visual animation features like Morph and Zoom will add polish to PowerPoint presentations," the company added.

The release will bring server enhancements, which will include updates to IT manageability, usability, voice and security.

Office 2016 -- the current version -- was launched two years ago.

Earlier this month, Microsoft rolled out a feature on its 'Teams' service which will allow guest access to all Office 365 commercial and education customers.

The feature will allow Office 365 users to add people from outside their company to a team, so the guests can participate in chats, join meetings, collaborate on documents and more.