14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will wrap up and launch its upcoming Cloud productivity suite by the end of June 2011, at least according to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.
Office 365 was introduced in October 2010, with the Redmond company emphasizing that the new collection of services are targeted at companies of all sizes.
Office 365 is not the Cloud equivalent of the Office desktop solution, and in this regard not a rival to Google Docs.
However, the services it manages to encompass under a single brand will allow many companies, from small business to corporations, to migrate away from on-premises solutions and embrace the Cloud.
According to Microsoft’s CEO, transitions can be kicked off by the end of this month with the release to web milestone. A specific deadline for the general availability of Office 365 RTW wasn’t provided.
“We're pushing hard in the productivity space. We'll launch our Office 365 cloud service, which gives you Lync and Exchange and SharePoint and Office and more as a subscribable service that comes from the cloud. That launches in the month of June,” Ballmer revealed.
There will be multiple flavors of Office 365, tailored for small businesses, for enterprise customers, and also for education organizations.
Small businesses that jump on board with Microsoft and adopt Office 365, will get access to Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online for just $6 per user a month. Yes, customers can acquire just a single subscription, and then scale up in accordance with their needs.
At its most expensive, Office 365 can cost up to $27 per user per month, with enterprise customers having the option to negotiate special pricing. Paying a $27 per user per month license will get customers some extra goodies designed to help them move away from their PBX system and even the right to use Office 2010 Professional Plus at no extra cost.