Microsoft announces Office for iPad

Microsoft unveiled the long-awaited iPad version of Office during a presentation. In addition, the company comes with business software that allows companies to manage employee devices with Android, iOS or Windows.

This was announced by the new CEO Satya Nadella during his first product presentation for Microsoft. The company releases Office as an application for the iPad and can be downloaded from the App Store starting Friday morning. The Office package contains Word, Excel and Powerpoint and should be comparable in functionality to the desktop version, according to Microsoft. The iPad version does have a custom interface that is optimized for tablets.

Documents opened with Office on iPad should look the same as they do on other devices. It is also possible to collaborate on documents, something Microsoft already introduced with its Office 365 service. Created documents are automatically saved in the cloud service OneDrive.

According to Microsoft, there will be both free and paid versions of Office for iPad. Reading Office files is possible with the free app, but those who want all the functionality, such as editing, have to pay for it. Those who have a subscription to Office 365 can use all functionality without paying extra.

Microsoft also announced software that companies can use for ‘bring your own device’ applications. Called the Enterprise Mobility Suite, the software environment lets users register their devices to access corporate apps and settings. There is support for devices running Android, iOS or Windows. The Suite is based on existing Microsoft business software, such as the Azure platform.