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Microsoft vies for cross-platform scale with Office app

Microsoft?s decision last week to launch an iOS application for its Office services points to the manufacturer's goal to have a presence across all operating systems.

The latest move also underscores the challenges that Microsoft is having in distinguishing itself from Apple and Google. Microsoft is clearly trying to plant itself on different operating systems to expand its mobile reach, but the app is primarily focused on Apple's iPhone, where the company could be missing out on a big opportunity to bring utility-based tools to the iPad. 

?Basically what they have done is too limited ? they are missing out on a huge number of people with iPads,? said Frank Gillett, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA.

?This is a new idea of subscription to Office and not many people have made the switch yet,? he said. ?It feels like a too-small and too-late step.

?What we think has happened is that Microsoft wanted to put Office on the iPad, but the Windows team was afraid that it would reduce the probability of people buying Windows tablets, which we think is a mistake.?

Microsoft did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile reach
The Microsoft Office app is available for free download to consumers with either an Office 365 ProPlus or Office 365 Home Premium subscription.

The cloud-based Home Premium subscription plans are either $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year and is geared towards families that want to edit and store documents across up to five different devices.

Office 365 ProPlus on the other hand is marketed towards business consumers with one user license and service that run on up to five laptops. Plans are either $12 or $15 per month, with the more expensive option running on a month-to-month model and the cheaper model rolling over each month.

Microsoft?s new mobile app lets consumers view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents remotely.

Consumers can also review comments in documents that they are editing with others. The changes can be made by saving directly to a SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro account or as an email.

Mobile competitors
One of the biggest challenges that Microsoft will face with bringing its services to mobile is with similar and cheaper alternatives to Office.

For example, Google Apps offers businesses a cheaper version of mobile document tools, which could hurt Microsoft with consumers that are wishy-washy on which option to buy.

Similar to Microsoft?s Office, Google Apps lets consumers connect to their email, calendar and documents and sites to edit and save work through the cloud, which can be accessed via desktops, smartphones and tablets.

A basic, business-ready version of Google Apps is $5 a month or $50 a year plus taxes. A version with more built-in security is $10 per month plus taxes.

Another challenge for Microsoft here will be around creating a use case for its products since it is later to the game than other document editing options.

Although Office does have a group of loyal users, being able to complete these tasks on smartphones and tablets is not a big priority for mobile users.

?Up until now, Microsoft had kept Office exclusive to its own mobile platforms, believing it would be a big enough lure to attract users to its Windows Phones and tablets,? said Kevin Burden, director of mobility at Strategy Analytics.

?But it proved not to have the strong attraction it thought it would for a couple key reasons,? he said.?Users needing document capabilities were able to use other alternatives, some which arguably provide a better Office experience than actual Microsoft Office like Documents to Go.

"The other key reason is use case. Mobile devices are communication tools at their core and now split duty as Web access devices. Documents capabilities are important to only subset of the user base and their full functionality on mobile devices has never been strongly desired.?

Dying for attention?
Microsoft has aggressively been promoting its line of Windows 8 tablets since debuting them last year to vie for more market share.

The manufacturer is positioning its products against Apple and Android with the focus on one universal operating system that renders the same across multiple devices.

In fact, Microsoft recently launched a TV campaign that pitted its Asus VivoTab Smart tablet against Apple?s iPad by highlighting its Office products that run seamlessly on the devices (see story).

Meanwhile, Apple recently announced plans to update its iWork suite of productivity tools to a cloud-based system at the company?s WWDC event.

Therefore, some experts say that by not rolling out the Microsoft Office app for iPad, the company is not looking to win over new consumers.

?I think my take is that it probably matters less than it may appear,? said Carl Howe, vice president of research and data sciences at Yankee Group, Boston.

?To paraphrase an old Gloria Steinem quote, most mobile users who use their phones for calls, texts, Internet, and music need Microsoft Office like a fish needs a bicycle,? he said.

?The fact that Microsoft restricted it to an iPhone only app instead of one that runs natively on iPad tells me that this product is an attempt to keep Office users from choosing other alternatives, not one to win new users. I don't see it increasing Microsoft's mobile app market share.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York