The software giant has launched its flagship product, Office 2010, is aimed at businesses and home users.

The latest version of software called a free online component – Office Web Apps.

Analysts believe that the web services is a response to Google, which has been on Microsoft’s core business to interfere with its free online tools.

Crucially, Microsoft will also be its online office suite for all users of the world’s most popular social-networking sites, Facebook.

“There is no question – Microsoft is responding Google threat,” Whit Andrews, an analyst at market research firm Gartner said.
Microsoft world

Google and Microsoft have increasingly begun to stray into each other’s traditional markets.

Microsoft has thrown its full weight behind its search engine Bing, Google is indeed on its own operating system, as Chrome OS to run known.
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It is crucial that Microsoft users to capture not bound to the same desktop PC every day

Whit Andrews, Gartner

The battle for the office software market started in 2006 when the search giant launched the first elements of Google Docs.

“Until Google emerged with a credible suite of networked applications, Microsoft was not forced to do something.”

Google Docs now offers word processing, spreadsheet and presentation tool, among others. Companies can pay for premium versions.

“Each release of Office has a number of new competitors and we take this very seriously,” Jeff Teper, vice president of Microsoft Business Division, told BBC News.

“[Google] has developed a product that they tried to have company with the destination – has done it very well implemented.”

Google Docs now has a small (4%), but growing share of the market.
Google Chrome Google Chrome OS logo will be released in the second half of 2010

On the other hand dominated the Microsoft Office software space, according to a market share of more than 94%, Gartner. The vast majority of sales to businesses.

Business is still predominantly a Microsoft world, “Sheri McLeish, an analyst at Forrester Research said.

Microsoft maintains its dominant position in spite of the free offerings from Google and other alternatives like Zoho or the free office suite OpenOffice.org.

Prior to the launch of Microsoft Google posted a blog urging enterprises switch its software, claiming that he is a real alternative “is.

“If you are considering upgrading to Office Office, we would encourage you to consider an alternative: Upgrade Office with Google Docs,” it said.

Despite Google’s focus on business, said Mr. Andrews, his message and software are likely to be younger people, the appeal does not necessarily grown up on Microsoft products.

have “If you generate your content in the Google Apps system, and it lives there, you’d have a really good reason to move,” he told BBC News.
Social Software

Office Web Apps offers a free version of programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
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Office 2010 is the ultimate Freemium deal – if some basic services are offered for free, while power users will be happy to pay a premium

Tim Weber Business editor, BBC News website Microsoft uses free office

The service allows people to access and edit documents in a Web browser, as well as to share and collaborate on files.

It lacks the full range of features into the desktop versions found, but is designed in part to entice consumers to try the Microsoft products, “said Mr. Teper.

“One of the reasons why we are so free from the Office Web applications … The appeal also called for consumers to get new people, try to get the latest versions.”

Microsoft has said that the suite offered free to its 400 million Windows Live users.

“It is critical that Microsoft users who captures not bound to the same desktop PC every day,” said Mr. Andrews.

“They must be able to serve the growing Netbook community and the people with their phones.”

The company has also integrated the social web to win in its software in a bid to new customers and keep the desktop software relevant in an increasingly online world.

His Social Connector service enables people, information from social networks like MySpace and LinkedIn suck in the Office Outlook e-mail program.

The company also has a test version of its online applications, which released integrated with Facebook.

“With the changes that have happened with social networks and Web applications, Microsoft brings [Office] to the present day,” said Mrs. McLeish.

The software for PCs and mobile phones was on at an event in New York 12th May started. Business customers can use it immediately, while home users in Britain have until 15 June wait to buy the full version.

The European Commission has decided that hinder the business “not significantly impede effective competition”.

Under the transaction, Yahoo’s web search engine is Microsoft Bing, and use the two companies will share revenue.

Microsoft is committed to increase their shares of the search engine industry, which is dominated by Google, too.

The first, and Yahoo announced the planned tie-up in July last year.

“Stronger competitors”

In explaining its decision, the Commission stated that, taken together, Microsoft and Yahoo currently have less than 10% of the search market in Europe, with Google controlling 90%.

The deal gives Microsoft a bigger slice of the Internet advertising business, but it’s still miles and miles behind Google
Chris Green of DMG Europe

The Commission stated that the investigation revealed that the deal was expected to “competition in the Internet search and search advertising by Microsoft to raise a stronger competitor to Google.”

In the U.S., the deal was also supported on Thursday by the judiciary.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said regulatory approval for the tie-up represented “an exciting milestone”.

“I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo as well as for advertisers and publishers to promote more choice, better value and greater innovation for our customers,” he added.

MICROSOFT
The annual turnover of $ 58.44bn
Net profit of $ 14.57bn
93,000 employees

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said the two companies’ alliance would break search.

However, said technology analyst Chris Green of DMG Europe, Microsoft had little hope of making much of a dent in Google’s search engine dominance.

“This deal gives Microsoft a bigger slice of the Internet advertising business, but it’s still miles and miles behind Google,” he said.

Microsoft’s “Bing is technically a very good search engine, but nobody uses it, and make it present no profits.

“The deal with Yahoo, there should be a not too shabby and profitable world number two search engine. But still no Google.”

Revenue sharing

As part of the 10-year Microsoft-Yahoo agreement, the Microsoft search engine Yahoo Bing site of power, while in turn the main Yahoo advertising sales team Bing.

YAHOO
The annual turnover of $ 6.46bn
Net income of $ 598m
13,900 employees

In return, Microsoft will have 12% of the search engine Yahoo generates revenue through the website for the first five years of the transaction, and also the payment of the remaining 88% on Yahoo.

Microsoft and Yahoo said they would begin to implement the agreement “in the coming days.”

They said they would work with advertisers to make the transition as “an efficient and seamless as possible.”

In 2008, Microsoft offered to buy $ 47.5bn (£ 30.4bn) to the entire Yahoo, but his offer was rejected.