Microsoft took its Office software into the Internet "cloud" on Tuesday, moving the suite of popular business tools online amid budding competition from Google's Web-based products. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer presided over an event here for the global launch of Office 365, which the US software giant released in beta, or test, mode in October.
Ballmer said Office 365 is "where Microsoft Office meets the cloud" and is designed for "any business of any size." Office 365 joins Microsoft's SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync programs as Web-hosted services, sparing businesses the expense of buying, installing and maintaining the software on their computers.
Ballmer said Office 365 gives users a host of new opportunities for online collaboration including email, shared documents, instant messaging, video and Web conferencing. "Great collaboration is critical to business growth," Ballmer said. "With Office 365 people can stay connected using instant messaging," he said. "They can conduct real-time virtual meetings with co-workers and customers and partners.
Office 365 for small businesses or professionals can be set up in as few as 15 minutes and subscriptions cost $6 per user per month. Software packages tailored to the needs of larger businesses are available for monthly per-user subscriptions ranging from $2 to $27.
While Microsoft dominates the workplace and claims over a billion Office users world-wide, the move to the cloud is seen as a response to the challenge posed by Google and others offering online programs. Microsoft said more than 200,000 organisations have tested Office 365 since it became available and businesses are "reducing IT costs by up to an estimated 50 percent while boosting productivity."