Microsoft Corp. announced a number of apps and services like Microsoft Office for iPad along with free Office Mobile apps for Android phones and the iPhone.
The Redmond St.-based tech firm also unveiled the Enterprise Mobility Suite, a set of cloud services assisting businesses handle corporate data and services on work devices.
A press release also said Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium along with Windows Intune improvements were also in store. It sounds like a busy year for Microsoft, just taking care of Apple's services and Nadella is certainly using the positive momentum to take 'pot shots' and everything that's moving. If his theory holds true, one of these initiatives will result in a breakthrough for Microsoft and a client, moving the firms closer together.
There is some truth to that since former founder of Apple, Steve Jobs and co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates maintained both their professional and personal relationships in high regard. And it might be that Apple working together with Microsoft could come up with some surprises.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft said in a news release, "Microsoft is focused on delivering the cloud for everyone, on every device. It's a unique approach that centers on people - enabling the devices you love, work with the services you love, and in a way that works for IT and developers."
Motley Fool's Leo Sun writes, " Android devices include larger-screen devices, like tablets, phablets, and hybrid laptops. Consider this -- Microsoft has now handed out Office for free to all Android devices, which account for 62% of tablets worldwide. Although the Android version is not optimized for tablets like the iPad version, it will now be nearly impossible to follow that up with a paid, tablet-optimized version of Office for Android devices." One Note is expected to piggy back on Apple's Mac.
Chris Green from Davies Murphy Group consultancy told BBC, "It was definitely a major mistake to wait - an example of the insular old-world thinking of Steve Ballmer and his management team that believed everything should be within a Windows ecosystem,"
"In today's multi-device environment, where Windows is no longer the all dominant platform it once was, that game plan doesn't work anymore. The fact Microsoft is now catching up is only going to be a good thing and will be to the benefit of the Office applications."
