14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer confirmed last month that Office 365 is right on track for general availability by the end of June 2011. Ballmer however did not reveal any specific RTW (release to web) deadline for the software giant’s Cloud productivity suite, and the company did not exactly rush to confirm its CEO’s announcement.
But last week, several Microsoft representatives, among whom Jon Roskill, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Partner Group, offered official confirmation of the fact that Office 365 would be launched on June 28th, 2011.
“June 28th is the date for General Availability of Office 365! > 100,000 real customers on beta...Partners, are you ready???” he tweeted.
There are still over 20 days until the official release of Office 365, and it’s important to note that the Beta of the productivity suite continues to be available to customers worldwide.
Companies looking to embrace the Office 365 should sign up for the Beta and test it before it’s launched.
Over the weekend, a member of the Office 365 team also confirmed the June 28th RTW deadline for Office 365.
“We’ve seen a lot of buzz about Office 365 in the market. It’s amazing to see the enthusiastic response to the service.
“We’re getting questions about what’s next for Office 365. On June 28th, we’re planning a webcast to share the latest Office 365 news. Stay tuned to this blog (or @Office365 on Twitter or Facebook.com/office365 if you prefer) for more details.”
Office 365 might not be a fully-fledged Cloud equivalent for the on-premises flavor of the Office 2010 system, and associated components, but the offering does pack quite a “hosted punch.”
Prices for Office 365 start at just $6 user per month, and can climb as high as $27 per user per month for enterprise customers.
The most complete flavor of Office 365 contains such services as Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online, and even the Office 2010 desktop solution.