Microsoft’s Office 365 suite has typically been thought of as a business proposition, but fresh news from the Redmond firm suggests there might be a major overhaul in the works aimed to woo everyday computer users.
Think of Office 365 and you probably think of your work cubicle – it’s frankly the bane of every desk-bound lackey all over the world.
But recent comments by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggest the company’s productivity offering could be revamped in a bid to appeal to ordinary people.
As reported by The Verge, Nadella admitted that his firm had “made a bunch of mistakes by just saying let’s just enter every category, just because we’re a software company,”but that an Office 365 consumer offering was still a viable proposition for the software giant – given the right distribution model.
“I think about Microsoft 365 as a two-sided market. What we are doing with Office 365 or what we will soon be talking about as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, those would be again completely consumer businesses,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella commented at a press briefing.
Just how Microsoft opts to introduce an Office 365 bundle to the consumer market remains to be seen. The company first started to package a full-fat software suite (including Windows 10 and Office 365) back in 2017, but that was largely limited to the business and education markets.
Looking to enter the consumer market, rumours suggest that Office 365 could be rebranded as Microsoft 365 – a subscription service that combines Office 365, Skype, Cortana and Outlook Mobile.
Whether or not Windows 10 features in the deal is another area of uncertainty, but judging by Nadella’s comment, it seems safe to say that Microsoft is actively looking to reinvent its cloud-based software suite for new audiences – and, potentially, a new generation of users.
Typically, Microsoft’s Office offering – which includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, and other programs – has come bundled as pre-installed software on Windows devices, but the CEO’s recent statements suggest it might soon look to find new life and a wider market in 2019.
Would you buy a Microsoft Office 365 subscription as a consumer? Let us know @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
