Microsoft is abandoning its exclusive commitment to Windows, making its ubiquitous Office software available for the iPad. iPad users can now download Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and those who subscribe to Office 365 can save their iPad-for-Windows documents in the cloud through Microsoft OneCloud. Those who do not subscribe will be able to view Office documents on the iPad, but will not be able to edit or save. None of the iPad-for-Office users will be able to print documents from their IPads at this time.
Microsoft of course offers its own tablet line, the Surface, and recently announced support for LTE on AT&T’s network. While Office for the iPad may hurt Surface sales, Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella clearly believes that securing the future of the company’s go-to workplace software is paramount, and is willing to sacrifice some hardware sales in an effort to maintain software leadership. As enterprises increasingly provision tablets for employees, Microsoft’s realpolitik move may seem like a smart strategy for Redmond, and a boon for Cupertino as well.
But Microsoft’s move may be too little too late. While Microsoft’s Nadella was launching Office for the iPad, research firm Gartner was releasing a projection that shows Android devices out-shipping all other mobile devices combined by 2015.
Even worse for Microsoft, the tablet market is moving away from Apple and away from the developed markets. “The adoption of tablets has been largely concentrated in the U.S., with the dominance of Apple. Market dynamics in other regions are different, as the uptake of lower cost, smaller, non-branded tablets, becomes more apparent,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.
“Tablet substitution of notebooks will start to dissipate from this year onwards as consumers and businesses align the right device with the right usage pattern. As they do this, we will see where dedicated devices (such as tablets), or hybrid devices (detachable or convertible devices), fit in the overall portfolio of devices,” said Atwal.
Gartner projects 38.6% growth for the tablet market this year, a growth rate slightly lower than last year’s but still far above the growth rates projected for smartphones and PCs. Mobile phone shipments are expected to increase 4.9% and PC sales are expected to decline 6.6%.
