Microsoft’s EDU event in New York City today saw a number of interesting introductions. From Windows 10 S to the Surface Laptop, the company went on directly for education users. Adding to that, Microsoft also said that it is bring the Office suite to the Windows Store for the first time.
You may be thinking the Office apps are already available. However, we’re talking about the full Win32 desktop versions of the services. This is not the mobile or UWP versions of the suite. Instead users get the full apps with all their features.
Terry Myerson, executive vice president for Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, announced the addition at the evet today. With this introduction, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be on the Windows Store.
Myerson also pointed to more Office services coming to the store. However, no date has been given for when users can expect to see the Win32 Office suite arrive, although the company says it is targeting a June release.
Microsoft is clearly trying to target a strong user base that Google has built with Chrome. The OS is cloud-based and has been widely adopted in schools and amongst students.
Win32 Office for Windows 10 S
However, bringing full Win32 Office Suite apps to Windows 10 S gives it a clear differentiator over Chrome OS.
Of course, Microsoft is not playing up the fact it is targeting Google, but the intention is clear. The company says that Chromebooks are unable to use Office offline, while Windows 10 S can use the Win32 Office apps.
While the company is being diplomatic at the moment, we imagine there will be some market aggression when plans come fully into play during the year.
