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| microsoft office for android and ios |
Last year, soon after CEO Satya Nadella took the helm of Microsoft,
one of the biggest announcements to emerge from the company was that Office apps
for other platforms like Android and iOS. This year, the company brings
yet another surprise, and a big one. Android and iOS users can now
download Microsoft Office apps for free, without the need for an Office
365 subscription
Microsoft has released a press statement that says, “Microsoft took
the next step to bring the productivity of Office to everyone with new
Office apps and experiences for the iPhone and iPad, a preview of Office
apps for Android tablets, and the ability for customers using these
devices to create and edit Office content without a subscription.”
So what is the logic behind this move? Microsoft would like you to believe that it’s all business as usual
“It’s an extension of the strategy that we’ve got. It’s not a total
strategic shift, as much of an extension of the existing strategy”, the
company told TheVerge
For those who are wondering whether this will be a setback to
Microsoft’s revenue, it should be noted that the company won’t be
extending the free functionality to businesses, which is the major
source of revenue for the company
This means that consumers with documents on OneDrive for Business or
Dropbox for business, will have to still pay for subscription. So, it
will continue to generate revenue from businesses that rely on its
productivity apps and cloud services
Interestingly, this piece of news comes just a few days after Microsoft announced its strategic deal with Dropbox
that will allow Office software users to manage and share files through
Dropbox’s website and mobile app. Microsoft said the functionality
would be included in the next updates to the Office mobile apps, to be
rolled out in the next few weeks, and online accessibility would be
available in the first half of 2015
Microsoft Office apps can be downloaded from the Google Play store and Apple app store
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