Microsoft Office 365 brings productivity to the cloud


20 Oct 2010

Microsoft has unveiled Office 365, which brings Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online into the cloud.

Office 365 lets users work from anywhere, while collaborating with others in and outside their company securely. It works with most browsers, smartphones and desktop applications which supports ActiveSync.

It’s a subscription-based service, fusing cloud-based syncing and collaboration to businesses globally.

“Office 365 is the best of everything we know about productivity, all in a single cloud service,” said Kurt DelBene, president of the Office Division at Microsoft in a statement.

“With Office 365, your local bakery can get enterprise-calibre software and services for the first time, while a multinational pharmaceutical company can reduce costs and more easily stay current with the latest innovations.

“People can focus on their business, while we and our partners take care of the technology,” said DelBene.

It also lets small businesses with fewer than 25 employees get started with Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online and an external website in 15 minutes for €5.25 per user per month.

Office 365 allows large to mid-size businesses basic email services for €1.75 per user per month.

For €22.75 per user per month, organisations can avail of Office Professional Plus, as well numerous features, such as enterprise social networking, extranets and video conferencing.

Office 365 has been launched as a beta, to be tested in organisations within 13 countries and regions.

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