TECH SPECIAL..Microsoft Gives New Touch & Feel to Office

Microsoft Gives New Touch & Feel to Office

Software giant Microsoft has unveiled the next generation of its Office softwares – including Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint and One-Note applications. The refreshed Office suite – which includes Microsoft Office 2013, adesktop version as well as Office 365 (a subscription-based version for both enterprises and individuals) – blends touch, social and cloud capabilities, creating a much-needed simplified and intuitive user experience that had several users remark, “Finally!”.
Office documents can now also be stored on to SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service for documents. And Office will be offered as a service rather than just the PC download version it has traditionally been associated with. However, prices and exact launch dates are yet to be announced. “This is the most ambitious release of office we have ever done!...And it feels to us a lot like 1995!” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
“Microsoft is reacting fairly well to market demands, which include better cloud integration, cloud service offerings and mobile device versions,” says Michael Silver, vice-president and research director at technology research and advisory firm Gartner.
Office is Microsoft’s best selling product. The company claims that over 1 billion people across the world use Office. But experts feel Microsoft is yet to better address the tablet market led by Apple’s iPad. Although it had announced its Metro style version of OneNote – its note-taking application – it did not say much about other Office products, most notably Office Web Apps, on the iPad.
“Microsoft already has a OneNote version for the iPad, but it’s weak. Microsoft needs a better story there and they did not announce it today. It’s not clear that the traditional version of Office, even though it’s redesigned a bit for touch, will be a great tablet experience,” says Silver.
Ballmer described Office 13 as being “beyond magical” and said that it complements “the most vibrant Windows” (Windows 8) yet with “the most vibrant Office”. Some of the updates seem incredible. But experts feel Office 2013 could also be challenged because organisations are still deploying Windows 7 and Office 2010.
Then there’s the story of the growing Google rivalry. Microsoft’s share in the business productivity software segment might be well over 90% of the market. But that doesn’t mean it can afford to be complacent. Google has been winning one-thirds to half of new corporate users that are paying for its web-based software. And, as The Wall Street Journal reported, Microsoft actually has a “Google Compete” team just to keep Office customers from switching over to Google products. Analysts feel these new features of Office could help Microsoft gain an edge over its rival.
10 Hot New Features
1 A neat look with touch features
2 Cloud: Seamless access to documents, apps and personalised settings across devices
3 One-click multi-party video conferencing in HD along with file sharing
4 Import PDF content, work with online images and watch videos within Word
5 Quick in-line reply feature in Outlook; Bing Maps navigates to an address within the email
6 Improved collaboration
features such as co-authoring of PowerPoint presentations 7 Inking: One can highlight and write notes, mimicking hand writing
8 Calendar lets you glance quickly at your schedule without rearranging windows
9 View contacts and activity feeds to multiple social networks in Outlook
10 Office as a service:
Following the SaaS model with automatic updates to new features

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