Microsoft Office 2010 Will Be Free on the Web

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A fantasy is created in Microsoft’s new Office 2010 software, part desktop software and part Web app by Microsoft. Applications like Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint are included in the latest version of Office. To modernize one of its most lucrative products and to thwart rivals like Google, that are nipping at its heels with free Web software, this new version of Office is long-awaited effort of Microsoft. By this version, people can store their documents on the Web instead of on their personal computers. This technology will persuade businesses and consumers along with a host of other features to upgrade their Office software once again if all goes according to Microsoft’s plan. The president of Microsoft’s business software division, Stephen Elop said “It is a remarkable moment,” and will showcase Office 2010 at an occasion on Wednesday in New York. For businesses, it is now available.

“Office will range in price from a limited, free Web version supported by ads to a full-blown version that costs $500, both to be available to consumers in June,” said by Microsoft.

According to most analysts, “they think Microsoft will hold on to its near monopoly on productivity software.”

The senior software analyst at Cross Research, Richard Williams said, “most companies would continue to choose Office because it was familiar and safe.” “This is not the cycle that will take away from Windows or Office,” he added, “Most of the people calling the shots and paying the bills are in their 40s, and grew up with Microsoft.”

Either by offering free versions or by recommending to clients that they buy fewer copies of Office, a host of businesses are chipping away at Microsoft. The president of Google’s business software group, “I think Office has run away from its users.” “Every company ought to have a few copies of it, but it has nothing to do with what most people need,” added by him.

Instead of e-mailing files back, users of the new version of Office will be able to share and work on the same documents and presentations over the Internet. To give users the best of both worlds, Microsoft has created a way for people to flip from the PC to online versions of Office. Google, Adobe and smaller companies like Zoho have been giving away Web-based apps that do much the same thing so many of those functions sound familiar.

According to the research firm Gartner, “Over the last three years, Microsoft’s share of the office software market has remained static at 94 percent.” In office software income, Adobe ranks second with almost 4 percent of the market, leaving scraps for about eight other companies. Last year, business software group of Microsoft brought in $19 billion. For Microsoft’s competitors over the years, the vast size of this productivity empire and the software’s growing complexity has made Office a popular target.

A free productivity package called OpenOffice that performs most of the functions found in Office is backed by rivals like I.B.M. and Sun Microsystems, which are now part of Oracle. Google Apps, company’s online suite of software is similar to Microsoft’s business products and signed up by about 25 million people. “Microsoft still has little to worry about. It has benefited from linking features in Office to other business software products in the company’s arsenal and as a result, has been able to coax customers into large, unified upgrades,” according to analysts.

Strategy to pay off well is expected for Microsoft this year by many Wall Street analysts. Previous versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system software are skipped by many large companies and they continue to rely on four- to five-year-old computers. “These customers will finally upgrade their machines and software, particularly after Windows 7, ” that is expected by analysts.

The software analyst, Mr. Williams said, “I think we will see this refresh cycle kick in over the summer,” and “It is going to be big and matter a whole lot.” Mr. Lieblich said, “Office is a great product, but it is quite complicated and people aren’t really taking advantage of the software.” The Microsoft executive, Mr. Elop said, “It clearly shows their lack of maturity and lack of understanding for the business market,” and “Companies don’t want to mix their technology.” Exoprise Systems Company has been started by Mr. Lieblich and will soon begin selling software that monitors computers to see what types of products workers use and how they use them. Customers, who are away from traditional applications like Microsoft Office to cheaper online alternatives will get guidance by it.

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