Microsoft Office 365 Cloud Based Office Suite Nothing New

Yesterday, June 28, Microsoft finally launched the Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite.
Microsoft Office 365 Cloud Based Office Suite Nothing New
Microsoft's Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite. (Screenshot from microsoft.com)
6/29/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/365mircosoft.jpg" alt="Microsoft's Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite. (Screenshot from microsoft.com)" title="Microsoft's Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite. (Screenshot from microsoft.com)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1801687"/></a>
Microsoft's Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite. (Screenshot from microsoft.com)
Yesterday, June 28, Microsoft finally launched the Office 365, its new Cloud-based service based on the popular Office business productivity suite.

And Microsoft’s late transition to Cloud-based provision for its key software product has indicated one thing; that Microsoft is losing its competitive edge by following the same outdated tactic that it has been using since the company’s inception: imitation.

Microsoft’s competitors are slowly but surely drowning out the old beast with innovation; the only weapon Microsoft can’t seem to emulate. While companies like Apple and Google continue to lead the hottest software market today, the mobile market, Microsoft is stuck several steps behind at every turn, failing to produce features and services that make it standout, unable to create anything original.

Companies like Apple, once on the verge of bankruptcy and seemingly doomed to a legacy of failure, reemerged from the depths by developing new and exciting products and advancements that changed the face of the digital economy.

With the launch of Office 365, Microsoft has suggested only that it has finally decided that it would like to emulate the successes of other Cloud-based services.

Office 365 comes on a subscription basis, priced at $6 per user per month, a strategy targeting those companies who have been shown to be turning more to subscription-based fees than large single-payment cash sums.

The service is designed to increase productivity and minimize the amount time it takes to collaborate and collectively produce data within a business or user community. Through its data sharing services, email and calendar tools, and Lync communications service, users would have the ability to coordinate work more effectively.
However portrayed, the necessity of the service still comes into question. A simple internet shortage would suddenly incapacitate an entire office’s ability to create or access business documents and spreadsheets for the duration of the shortage, limiting the capacity of workplace to actually conduct business.

Users might simply stick with physical user-end, bought and paid-for installation packages that would be usable at any time, even in the event of an internet outage. Compatibility issues would also not be a concern at all, considering how Office 365 has been reported to have a few problems in converting documents uploaded from computers, according to an article on network and communications analysis website No Jitter.

Perceived advantages of Office 365 may just be illusions, fancy descriptions of hard drive-free utilities you already own integrated with internet transfer tools you can find by yourself, and likely for free at that. Office 365 may ultimately and simply be a desperate attempt by Microsoft to stay relevant as innovation begins to progress at a pace it can’t keep up with. Instead of looking to save face by jumping on the bandwagon, Microsoft might do well to try developing something new and seek to integrate their solid and proven products with an original platform instead.