If you’ve used a computer, it’s almost certain you have used Microsoft Word.
The aptly named word processor is one of the most influential computer programs in history. From schools to businesses, it’s become a daily part of life for millions of users around the world.
Word rose to global ubiquity because it offered something unique. It was the first word-processing software to embody what Microsoft described as the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) design philosophy.
The idea that what-you-see on the screen is what-you-get if you pressed print is taken for granted in the modern world. But it was a game changer at the time. Within a decade of its official release, Microsoft Word captured a 90 percent share of the word-processing market – officially marking itself as the one of the most successful software products of all time.
Last week, on October 25th 2024, Microsoft Word turned 41. It’s been a long time since it changed the game by delivering WYSIWYG. So what does the future hold for the world’s most popular processor?
Processing a milestone
Change is on the horizon for Word. But it’s not because we don’t need word processing software anymore.
Digital documents exist at the foundation of daily work for about 1.2 billion people. Knowledge workers – professionals who generate value for their organizations through expertise, critical thinking and interpersonal skills – use documents every day. The majority need some form of business document to turn the work they do into deliverable value.
So what’s changing?
Humans still need processors like Word. But in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation – word processors no longer need humans as they have before. The practitioners (us) are being disrupted, rather than the processors. And this is a good thing.
Knowledge is power
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