Office Web: Microsoft will offer ad-supported Office
The software giant Microsoft is breaking a taboo: in response to numerous free applications, the company will in future offer its Office for private users on the Internet for a rental fee or with advertising. The corresponding Windows Azure operating system was already presented on Monday.
The software giant Microsoft is breaking a taboo: in response to numerous free applications, the company will in future offer its Office for private users on the Internet for a rental fee or with advertising. Companies will still have to pay for the service. Microsoft had previously doubted the overall benefit of web-based applications, such as those offered by Google with Google Apps. It remains to be seen when Web Office, which runs in a web browser, will be launched.
With the Group's focus on Internet-based software services, which was announced some time ago, Microsoft is threatened with a loss of revenue in the billions. In 2007, the Office business alone generated a turnover of 18.9 billion dollars, as reported by Financial Times Deutschland. The profit amounted to 12.4 billion dollars. The Office division generates even more profit and turnover than the highly profitable Windows operating system.
According to FTD Germany, however, Microsoft does not expect private users with a conventional version of Office to use the ad-financed version on a large scale. The online version processes large, bulky data more slowly. Rather, the company is hoping for additional revenue from those users who would not have bought a license for their computer anyway. It is extremely doubtful that this hope will be realized.
With this change in strategy, Microsoft is responding to increasing competition from free or ad-financed programs from Google, Yahoo or Open Office, for example. The predicted technology trend is also pointing in this direction: it is expected that programs will be installed less on the PC in future and will increasingly be offered and accessed on the Internet in the so-called computer cloud.
On Monday, the company presented the Windows Azure operating system, which is intended to serve as the basis for web-based software offerings and services. Azure and Web Office are being developed in parallel with the next Windows and Office versions for PCs. Although it is not yet known when the Web Office will be released, a so-called technology preview is to take place this year, which will allow a look at the program before the beta version is released. The beta version is planned for 2009.
With the Group's focus on Internet-based software services, which was announced some time ago, Microsoft is threatened with a loss of revenue in the billions. In 2007, the Office business alone generated a turnover of 18.9 billion dollars, as reported by Financial Times Deutschland. The profit amounted to 12.4 billion dollars. The Office division generates even more profit and turnover than the highly profitable Windows operating system.
According to FTD Germany, however, Microsoft does not expect private users with a conventional version of Office to use the ad-financed version on a large scale. The online version processes large, bulky data more slowly. Rather, the company is hoping for additional revenue from those users who would not have bought a license for their computer anyway. It is extremely doubtful that this hope will be realized.
With this change in strategy, Microsoft is responding to increasing competition from free or ad-financed programs from Google, Yahoo or Open Office, for example. The predicted technology trend is also pointing in this direction: it is expected that programs will be installed less on the PC in future and will increasingly be offered and accessed on the Internet in the so-called computer cloud.
On Monday, the company presented the Windows Azure operating system, which is intended to serve as the basis for web-based software offerings and services. Azure and Web Office are being developed in parallel with the next Windows and Office versions for PCs. Although it is not yet known when the Web Office will be released, a so-called technology preview is to take place this year, which will allow a look at the program before the beta version is released. The beta version is planned for 2009.
