The official Office 2016 installer loves to say: "Please close Outlook and Word to continue." Then, after installation, it often says: "Restart your computer to finish."
In a production environment, forcing a reboot is a cardinal sin. Users lose work.
Ninite handles file locking gracefully. If a file is in use, it schedules the replacement for the next reboot without stopping the rest of the installation. The machine stays online. The user keeps working. This is critical for terminal servers or shared workstations.
There are three primary reasons:
Twenty computers need a fresh image every semester. Instead of running an Office installer on each machine sequentially, the lab manager runs Ninite via a startup script. All 20 computers install Office 2016 simultaneously with zero staffing cost.
The free Ninite is incredible for 1-10 PCs. But for 100+ endpoints, Ninite Pro adds enterprise features that make Office 2016 deployment truly better:
For IT managers, Ninite Pro costs a fraction of a single hour of their salary and pays for itself in the first deployment. ninite microsoft office 2016 better
To truly make Ninite "better," combine it with a batch script. Here is a pro-tip:
This script activates your retail Volume Key automatically. For many admins, this workflow is worth its weight in gold.
Ninite aggregates dozens of popular applications (Chrome, 7-Zip, Zoom, etc.) into a single, custom-built installer. You check a box next to "Microsoft Office 2016," download a 2MB .exe file, and run it. The official Office 2016 installer loves to say:
But how is that "better"? Let’s break down the metrics.
If you manage domain-joined PCs, Group Policy Objects (GPO) can deploy Office 2016 MSI via Computer Configuration → Software Installation. For cloud-managed devices, Microsoft Intune can push Office 2016 using Win32 apps or built-in Office policies.