Office 2016 is from this year. In my definitions for Microsoft software, this means it is in open beta test and is not nearly mature enough to be used in production environment. Wait until 2018 and some service packs before using it.
The next thing is that API's and interfaces change with every release of MS software and that often causes problems in interacting.
Instead of using MS proprietary pieces like the Excel format or DDE, use simple interfaces that never change.
Use an open, readable format like csv to transfer data between SAS and MS Office.
DDE in particular is not yet dead, but it already smells funny.