We have been so busy of late that have had little time to discuss Microsoft’s latest cloud move – Office365
Office 365 features Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Lync Online as a bundled, hosted package. While it's not Microsoft's first office automation solution delivered as a service, the hope is that a cloud-based solution equipped with features and functions that are equivalent to the now aging client-based Office software will provide an easy path to the cloud for Microsoft customers. If it can pull off that transition, Microsoft may find itself leading the cloud-based office automation space quickly, perhaps passing Google as early as next year.
Why will Microsoft win that war? Answer: The millions of existing Office users, such as myself, who don't want to learn a new interface to use Google Apps or other cloud-based productivity programs.
While those in the IT community can argue over the technical differences between the competing cloud-based productivity applications, most rank-and-file users don't care. Thus, as IT departments ponder the movement to the cloud, Office 365 will prevail, as it offers the path of least resistance.