Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) took everyone by surprise when it announced on Thursday, 6th October, 2014 that henceforth this software package will be made available free of charge on mobile devices. After years of having charged $70 per month of its Office 365 suite from subscribers, this announcement is completely contradictory of past strategies.
Aptly labeled as a game-changer, this strategy has been the hot topic of discussion the world over ever since it has been announced and CNBC is no exception to this rule. Hosting the show was the ‘Squawk Alley’ team wherein the members discussed this latest bombshell with Kara Swisher from Recode. While one of the hosts actually claimed to have downloaded the MS Office on to his iPhone and only required to log in to be able to use it, Kara Swisher attributed this latest development to one of the many things that Nadella has been trying. It is no secret that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s new CEO has been on an experimental spree but the positive part is that most of the changes have not required him to go against the accepted norms.
Given that MS Office accounts for at least one-third of the company’s total revenue, this move appears to carry a high risk factor but head of marketing, Office division of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Michael Atalla provided the following explanation –
“It’s an extension of the strategy that we’ve got. It’s not a total strategic shift, as much of an extension of the existing strategy. We’re taking that same user experience we provide online to the native apps of iOS and Android. We want to make sure that our customers can be productive across all the devices they have.”
The first impression that users all over the world have formed pertains to this offer being a free lunch. However, a deeper insight reveals that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) might be intending to enhance its customer base exponentially free of cost rather than stick to its traditional policy of having few users who pay. Indicative of change of guard at the helm, it represents a new outlook which sounds truly lucrative from the users’ perspective.
This article has been written by Vinita Basu.
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