Johannesburg, 30 Nov 2011
Microsoft's cloud productivity platform for businesses, Office 365, is now officially available for public trial in SA.
The trial will allow users and businesses to use the service for up to six months, free of charge. The service is expected to be made commercially available in the first half of next year.
The suite offers access to the well-known Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, as well as Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Lync.
Office 365 also features ActiveSync, which gives users access to their cloud-based data across different devices, including mobile phones and tablets.
Following its initial June launch, Office 365 was made available in 22 additional markets yesterday, including SA, Argentina and Taiwan.
Microsoft SA marketing and operations director Melanie Botha says: “Office 365 is the best of everything we know about productivity, all in a single cloud service. We have had a huge amount of support from our local partners and customers to bring cloud computing to the region.”
Botha adds that Microsoft is expecting Office 365 to be a great success locally, with the focus being on the SME sector as early adopters.
“Recent research from Springboard, an analyst firm owned by Forrester, said 67% of organisations in the Middle East and Africa are either currently using or planning cloud initiatives.”
Familiar advantage
Office 365 is the company's biggest push into cloud software so far, but it faces competition from Google Apps and other cloud productivity offerings such as Cisco's WebEx.
Product manager for Office 365, James Avenant, says the key differentiator of the Microsoft offering is familiarity and the fact that “everyone already knows and trusts the services”.
“It's all familiar, they are all products people are already using and which have been proven to be effective, now packaged in a single product.”
The suite is available for small businesses and enterprise, with the small business version catering for those with limited IT resources. The enterprise version is customisable and allows for advanced IT configurations.
“Now small companies can cater to their technology needs without big infrastructure investments, and get access to several technology tools they didn't have before,” says Botha.
“Smaller companies can create and maintain a custom Web site, manage data and stay in control of sensitive information - even with no IT expertise.”
Avenant says official pricing will be announced with the commercial release next year, but the subscriptions will be in the region of R20 to R200 per user per month.
Microsoft SA productivity solutions lead, Tracy Bolton, says: “The impact of Office 365 will be far-reaching because we can bring the enterprise-class productivity applications to everyone at a cost-effective monthly subscription.”
People can start the trial at www.office365.co.za. Microsoft says once the product becomes commercially available next year, users will be given the option to subscribe and continue using the accounts they set up during the trial.
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