Office Live Workspace Will Be Upgraded to Windows Live SkyDrive

Customers running Office Live Workspace will soon get the chance to upgrade their accounts, as Microsoft has put it. But the evolution of Office Live Workspace out of Beta will also be synonymous with the service being melted into Windows Live SkyDrive. According to Sam Sengupta, principal group manager, Office Live Workspace, all existing customer accounts will be moved under the Windows Live SkyDrive umbrella, as Office Live Workspace will no longer be available as a standalone offering. Sengupta did not provide an actual deadline for when the transition would be kicked off, and only revealed that migration would start soon.

“When we upgrade Office Live Workspace user accounts to SkyDrive, you will get many of the same capabilities you get today in Office Live Workspace — with some exciting new features such as the Office Web Apps. Office Web Apps are online companions to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that allow you to view and edit Office documents directly within a Web browser,” Sengupta said.

“In addition, Windows Live SkyDrive provides up to 25 GB of storage space, easy-to-maintain contact lists and calendars, and groups which let you easily set up and share team or group calendars and announcements with people you select,” he added.

It is important to underline that this only applies to Office Live Workspace Beta accounts. In this regard, business users with Office Live Small Business accounts have nothing to worry about. The Office Live Workspace upgrade to Windows Live SkyDrive will not affect Office Live Small Business accounts and associated websites in any way.

Microsoft explained that the tradition was considered necessary because of a need to simplify the user experience for Live services. In all fairness, the new features, such as extra storage and Office Web Apps, can indeed be considered an upgrade. The Redmond company noted that it hoped customers would discover a “simpler, richer, better online experience” with the move to SkyDrive.

“We’ll notify you in the coming months when you can upgrade your Office Live Workspace account to SkyDrive with the Office Web Apps. When you do, all of your workspaces, documents, and related sharing permissions will be available directly within SkyDrive. Until then, you can continue to use Office Live Workspace to store and share documents just as you do today,” Sengupta said.