What we know as Microsoft Office is quickly coming to an end. As more and more applications hit the cloud and become universally available, compatible, and always-on, the client side version of Microsoft Office is bound to come to an early end. Although Office will live on for many more years on older computers, diehard fans, and stubborn upgraders, Microsoft Office’s online presence will become increasingly more important and embraced by the software giant.
Your Computer 10 Years Later
Why would a user rely on a local version of Office which can only be accessed at home, on a Windows system, when they could securely gain access to their files anywhere, regardless of the OS, location, or computer? Online applications are becoming more and more convenient and adopters are not complaining. Even my mother, attending a technical college for a medical coding degree, is now supplied with an online Beta of Outlook for her student email, allowing her to check and respond to email at school, home, or work. Students and employees using computers that are outdated or simply not upgraded to the latest version can instead opt to log into the online version of Microsoft Word to interact with their documents, something that only non-Microsoft products such as Google Docs could supply in the past.
The online version of Office may also help Microsoft to combat piracy by requiring a login and identification for each user. This could help drive down prices for the extremely expensive suite, making it yet more available and widespread as consumers who could not previously afford the suite may find themselves finally being given the option to use Office. Microsoft would also have a much more live platform, something where a minor update or service pack can instantly, seamlessly be pushed out to the world without requiring any user interaction whatsoever.
The online version of Microsoft Office may hail a future in which almost, if not all, Microsoft products are in the cloud. Who is to say that Windows 9 or 10 may not eerily resemble Google’s new Chromium OS, boasting a stronger, continuous online presence? Although some users reject the cloud because of the potential security risks, if its marketed and convenient, an internet-based Microsoft Office suite will plow its way through the online world.
