Microsoft Unveils Office 365; Google Plays its Trump Card

We last reported about Microsoft's plans of launching its Office 365 services, by this month. Today, at an event in New York City’s Skylight Soho, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer might brace himself to make an important announcement, that of the launch of Microsoft’s Office 365, an online productivity platform. Office 365 is being furthered as the software giant’s leap in the cloud sphere.

Unveiled..

Microsoft aims to include its prized Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online as part of the Office 365 package. Users can avail these services, starting from today for $6 per user, each month. What is expected to stay in the limelight, and make competitor Google squirm in their seats, is the introduction of Office 365 Marketplace, complete with productivity apps, and other services. Microsoft is also amidst re-packaging their BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), and believes that the transition to cloud, should make it worthwhile.

Just as Microsoft readies itself to make the big announcement, one could expect Google, who has made a name for itself in the space, to follow close on its heels. Google has, indeed, launched a small-time strategy to position its own Google apps, to help users make an ‘informed choice’. Google’s App Product Manager, Shan Sinha on the company’s blog mentioned that unlike Office 365, which is optimized only for Microsoft’s own OS-based PCs, Google's services can be used on any OS, anywhere.

It now remains to be seen how well, or otherwise Office 365 fares especially with Google riding alongside.