Microsoft takes Office into the 'cloud'

Microsoft took its Office software into the Internet "cloud" on Tuesday, moving the suite of popular business tools online amid budding competition from Google's Web-based products. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer presided over an event here for the global launch of Office 365, which the US software giant released in beta, or test, mode in October. Ballmer said Office 365 is "where Microsoft Office meets the cloud" and is designed for "any business of any size." Office 365 joins Microsoft's SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync programs as Web-hosted services, sparing businesses the expense of buying, installing and maintaining the software on their computers. Ballmer said Office 365 gives users a host of new opportunities for online collaboration including email, shared documents, instant messaging, video and Web conferencing. "Great collaboration is critical to business growth," Ballmer said. "With Office 365 people can stay connected using instant messaging. They can conduct real-time virtual meetings with co-workers and customers and partners," he said. "People can work together on files and documents simultaneously." Office 365 for small businesses or professionals can be set up in as few as 15 minutes and subscriptions cost $6 per user per month. Software packages tailored to the needs of larger businesses are available for monthly per-user subscriptions ranging from $2 to $27. Microsoft began offering its popular software as "cloud" services a couple of years ago in the face of a trend championed by Internet titan Google and its Google Apps offerings. Google Apps are free to individual users while businesses are charged 50 dollars per user per year.