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Business News/ Companies / Microsoft teams up with Dropbox to target mobile, business users
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Microsoft teams up with Dropbox to target mobile, business users

Microsoft's Office users will be able to access Dropbox from mobile applications and edit files in Dropbox

Microsoft is initially rolling out Dropbox-enabled Office apps for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in the next few weeks. Photo: BloombergPremium
Microsoft is initially rolling out Dropbox-enabled Office apps for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in the next few weeks. Photo: Bloomberg

Seattle: Microsoft Corp, determined to get mobile users hooked on its Office software, is teaming up with online storage service Dropbox Inc.

The two companies still compete for business users, with Dropbox seeking to expand into corporate environments and Microsoft pushing more people to adopt its OneDrive storage service. Now, Office users will be able to access Dropbox from mobile applications and edit files in Dropbox, according to Kirk Koenigsbauer, a Microsoft Office vice president.

People running Windows or Windows Phone versions of Office will have to wait for the features, because Microsoft is initially rolling out Dropbox-enabled Office apps for Apple Inc.’s iOS and Google Inc.’s Android in the next few weeks. Before, Windows apps would have come first.

The shift in priorities reflects chief executive officer Satya Nadella’s desire to compete in Internet-based cloud services and in mobile, which is at the center of his strategy to turn around the world’s largest software maker. By getting as many people as possible to adopt Microsoft Office, he’s making sure that the company’s products remain widely used as customers move from desktop computers to smaller devices.

“It’s not so much about making sure that Windows is the first and foremost, it’s making sure Microsoft services are available regardless of what device is in use," said Wes Miller, an analyst at Kirkland, Washington-based Directions on Microsoft.

The deal also brings some Silicon Valley buzz. Dropbox, which has 300 million users, was valued at $10 billion when it raised financing in January. The San Francisco-based company is also known for turning down Steve Jobs, Apple’s late CEO, when he offered to buy Dropbox in late 2009.

Mobile, cloud

For Dropbox, the deal fits with its goal of attracting more corporate customers. The online storage provider updated its business services in April and has sought to allay any security concerns by companies that block Dropbox from their networks for fear of any sensitive documents or information leaking out. With more than 35 billion Office files stored on Dropbox, both companies needed to do a better job for mobile and Web users, said Ilya Fushman, head of product for Dropbox.

“Certainly on the desktop they’ve had a great experience — we’re looking to bring that to mobile and the Web," Fushman said.

Koenigsbauer said Office apps for Apple’s iPad have been downloaded 40 million times since Microsoft released the app back in March, and “one of the top requests has been more access to Dropbox content."

The new features will be available to any Office user with a Dropbox account. Users of Dropbox for Business will be required to have a subscription for Office 365, Microsoft’s Web- based version of the programme. That means more mobile-computing, cloud-embracing users — exactly the kind of paying customers that Nadella wants to see. Bloomberg

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Published: 04 Nov 2014, 09:57 PM IST
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