It is estimated that sales of Office, the suite that includes it, have exceeded 750 million.
Thirty years will be celebrated tomorrow since the first release of Word, Microsoft's famous word processing software, which, together with the Windows operating system, helped Microsoft build its empire.
Identified for countless users with the concept of "electronic word processor", it is considered one of the main reasons why Office, the software suite that was created along the way and which includes it, has exceeded 750 million in sales. Consequently, it is considered the most successful software product ever released.
Office's wide user base is still an important reason for its commerciality, even compared to "open" source programs that are offered for free, such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
With the spread of the Internet, however, new competitors emerged, such as IBM Docs and Google Docs. Running over the web, these programs are not only free, but also allow the user to access them from any machine with an online connection.
Microsoft's response came with Office web apps and mainly with Office 365. Launched in June 2011, Office 365 marks the first time the American company has decided to offer its suite as a subscription service. Thus, by paying an annual subscription, which in Greece is 99 euros for home use, the consumer can install the suite on 5 PCs or Macs, as well as on 5 mobile devices.
At the same time, Office 365 launched a completely new feature, Office on Demand, which allows the use of the full Office on any networked computer, without installing it on it. In essence, Office on Demand allows the user to "transfer" the entire suite from PC to PC, with all its settings.
According to Microsoft itself, Office 365 is a successful choice, generating a turnover of 1.5 billion for the company to date. However, the "battle" over which word processing software will have the most users is far from over as, just a few hours ago, Apple announced that it will now offer its own iWorks office suite for free with every new iOS device or Mac computer.
For its part, Microsoft has already made Office available for Android and iPhone mobile phones. And it has made no secret of the fact that it is preparing a version of Office for tablets and "hybrid" devices, which it will also make available for iPads.
Source: portal.kathimerini.gr
