Microsoft Office 2013
Microsoft is all set to launch its new office software the Microsoft Office 2013.
The "New Office" will be launched tonight, according to a statement made by the company on Twitter. This version will be launched in New-York and simultaneously other regions would follow suit.
Microsoft officials declined to comment on the launch when contacted. The beta version of the software was first announced in July Last Year by CEO Steve Ballmer, and comes 18 months after the launch of Office 2011 in September 2010.
| STEVE BALLMER, CEO Microsoft Corp., speaks at an event in San Francisco. "Since Google and Apple are increasingly eating into Microsoft's share, the company needs to take radical steps to stay ahed. |
The New Microsoft Office 2013 comes with in-touch screen capability, collaboration, social networking, cloud computing capability, and has retained access through mouse and keyboard.
Ballmer had talked about 3 new Office 365 subscription services, which need an Internet Connection and are based on a Pay per use basis. Each new subscription will include the new editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Note, Outlook, Publisher and Access. This, according to company officials, is because of the changing behavior of users who prefer to access applications on a need basis rather than investing in software that they do not use. Industry watchers are of the view that since competitors Google and Apple are increasingly eating into Microsoft's Share, they need to take Radical Steps to stay ahed.
Revenues
At the end of the fiscal year 2012, Microsoft business division posted $6.29 billion in revenues, up 7%, and revenues from Windows decreased 1% to $4.15 billion, prompting the company to launch its new version of Windows 8 Operating System in October.
While Microsoft has not officially announced the price of the new Microsoft Office 2013, according to Distributors worldwide, the company may price it in the range of $140 - $400 for a home user to a professional user of the new Microsoft Office 2013. Similarly a user of Office 365 will have to pay in the price range of $5 - $99 depending on options such as monthly, yearly, or per software basis. Microsoft has maintained that the on-premise software will continue to be installed, managed and licensed on a per-device basis.
