14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has yet to announce the official general availability deadline for Office 365, but the company is sure getting ready to sell subscriptions. As of today, June 1st, 2011, some of the Redmond company’s customers can start ordering the software giant’s upcoming Cloud-based productivity suite.
Microsoft’s Sjonia Harper revealed that Office 365 has been added to Microsoft's price list for customers with Volume License or Enterprise license agreements.
“Today is June 1, 2011 which means volume licensing customers can start ordering Office 365 - the next release of our hosted solutions for SharePoint, Exchange, Lync, and Office. The official launch date hasn't been announced yet, but it's very soon,” Harper revealed.
“We have offerings for Small Business and Enterprise. The beta is still open for those of you who want to try before you buy. If your organinzation has 250 seats or more, please contact your Microsoft account manager or call 1-800-426-9400 for smaller companies, you can order directly from the Office 365 Portal when it becomes available.”
Of course, volume and enterprise customers with valid agreements can work with Microsoft in order to also include Office 365 among the technologies covered by their license.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer revealed last week that the Redmond company is right on track to release Office 365 by the end of June 2011.
The Beta of Office 365 continues to be available for download even at this point in time, so customers interested in seeing what the Cloud productivity suite will bring to the table can take it out for a spin, so to speak.
It’s important to note that Office 365 is not a variant of the office desktop solution for the Cloud. Instead, Office 365 is a collection of services which includes: Office, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and Exchange Online.