Microsoft Launches 'Office 365 Personal' Plan for One Mac and One iPad at $69/Year

[Renzatic]

Not arguing the popularity of Office, I like it on my PC and mac. In regard to assuming there's a high number using it, it's a flawed assumption. The sales figures you gave were for office 365 as a whole. There's no breakdown there. A high majority of that is going to be businesses, rather than personal, see I can make assumptions look factual just like you. Again, most people are talking about iPad, not overall, being as the thread is about the iPad app. When the numbers come in, then will see. Until then, I'm not going to assume one way or the other, unlike some people on here. Assuming that just because an app is top of the free chart means there's tons of people constantly using it is flat out absurd. Look at flappy bird, I guarantee you that not everyone who downloaded it is still playing it.

It's not a flawed assumption at all. There are a lot of people with iPads. There are apparently a lot of people using Office 365. The people who own iPads and the people who have an Office 365 subscription probably overlap a fair bit. How much, I can't say. But considering Word is currently the second most downloaded app on the App Store, and the 21st top grossing app, you can easily say it's decently popular.

And the disparity between top downloaded and top grossing isn't just a bunch of people going "bleh, subscription" then deleting it. There's two other groups of people you're not accounting for.

People who already had an Office 365 sub, and got the iPad apps the moment they came available. And people who are using the free apps simply to view documents.

The raw numbers of both the platform and the service point towards a decently healthy userbase.

 

[shandyman]

Microsoft Launches 'Office 365 Personal' Plan for One Mac and One iPad at $69...

It's not a flawed assumption at all. There are a lot of people with iPads. There are apparently a lot of people using Office 365. The people who own iPads and the people who have an Office 365 subscription probably overlap a fair bit. How much, I can't say. But considering Word is currently the second most downloaded app on the App Store, and the 21st top grossing app, you can easily say it's decently popular.



And the disparity between top downloaded and top grossing isn't just a bunch of people going "bleh, subscription" then deleting it. There's two other groups of people you're not accounting for.



People who already had an Office 365 sub, and got the iPad apps the moment they came available. And people who are using the free apps simply to view documents.



The raw numbers of both the platform and the service point towards a decently healthy userbase.

Again, you're claiming there are raw numbers for iPad o365 sales, but there isn't, unless you have a source? You're basing too much on your own assumptions. That's my point. Until actual numbers are released, we just don't know for sure.

Additionally, as I have said, MS are missing out on a large number of people by limiting the app to subscription only access.

 

[maflynn]

But you don't have numbers though. Just a chart position. Which is relative to however much other apps have grossed.

So just to summarize
1. Outside of the iPad, MS is very successful with the subscription model of office.
2. The free Office apps in the iPad app store are near the top in popularity with Apple.
3. Office apps are also near the top (in the 20s the last time I looked) as the top grossing apps.

So your position is that because we don't have the actual app store figures, we can't tell if office is successful for the iPad?

I'll restate this point I said earlier. If it was any other company that was near the top of the app store popularity list and top grossing list, so many people will be saying how great it is, but because its Microsoft people are having a hard time acknowledging that Apple users are buying a Microsoft product.

 

[AndyK]

Still waiting for 2014 for Mac. Zero interest in subscribing for software when I have no use for any of the other features.

 

[shandyman]

So just to summarize
1. Outside of the iPad, MS is very successful with the subscription model of office.
2. The free Office apps in the iPad app store are near the top in popularity with Apple.
3. Office apps are also near the top (in the 20s the last time I looked) as the top grossing apps.

So your position is that because we don't have the actual app store figures, we can't tell if office is successful for the iPad?

I'll restate this point I said earlier. If it was any other company that was near the top of the app store popularity list and top grossing list, so many people will be saying how great it is, but because its Microsoft people are having a hard time acknowledging that Apple users are buying a Microsoft product.

I would argue the same point for any other company, not just MS, but don't let that fact get in the way of your assumption being presented as a fact....

As i have said before, which you repeatedly ignore, I'm not saying it's no successful, just pointing out that it's not as successful as it could be, as they're neglecting a large chunk of the audience who do not want to subscribe to o365 as it is unsuitable for them, though you've taken the conversation way off that point.

Additionally, since you brought up the app store, look at the reviews, 976 ratings, of which 476 are 1 star, 72 are 2 stars, the app itself averaging at 2 and half stars. That shows that there are a lot of people unhappy with the app, if you look at the reviews, most of them are about the fact it needs a subscription, so with that, you can say that Microsoft are not understanding quite a bit of their audience, note that i'm not saying they're not understanding their whole audience, as everyone has different needs or wants.

 

[sracer]

I'm not saying it's no successful, just pointing out that it's not as successful as it could be, as they're neglecting a large chunk of the audience who do not want to subscribe to o365 as it is unsuitable for them

That is not any more "factual" as what others have been saying about the success of Office for iPad.

How "large a chunk of the audience" would want to outright purchase Office for iPad if it were $100?

You apparently have an idea of what "more successful" means. Maybe Microsoft's definition is different. Maybe Microsoft doesn't want every iPad user to purchase Office, but wants every Office user to get plugged into the greater software/service ecosystem.

For every decision that a corporation makes, a claim of "not as successful as it could be" can be made. But they all assume to know what the company's end-goal is.

 

[shandyman]

Microsoft Launches 'Office 365 Personal' Plan for One Mac and One iPad at $69...

That is not any more "factual" as what others have been saying about the success of Office for iPad.

You see what I did there. Thought I'd join them. But there's definitely a lot of people that do not wish to subscribe to o365 just to use Word, etc.

How "large a chunk of the audience" would want to outright purchase Office for iPad if it were $100?



You apparently have an idea of what "more successful" means. Maybe Microsoft's definition is different. Maybe Microsoft doesn't want every iPad user to purchase Office, but wants every Office user to get plugged into the greater software/service ecosystem.



For every decision that a corporation makes, a claim of "not as successful as it could be" can be made. But they all assume to know what the company's end-goal is.

The cost of the outright purchase is a whole other debate. $100 is definitely the wrong pricing for the app though in this day and age.

As stated, subscription model does not equal a "greater software/service ecosystem" for all users.

 

[Naimfan]

But there's definitely a lot of people that do not wish to subscribe to o365 just to use Word, etc.

The cost of the outright purchase is a whole other debate. $100 is definitely the wrong pricing for the app though in this day and age.

As stated, subscription model does not equal a "greater software/service ecosystem" for all users.

I agree. I'd much rather pay a one-time license fee then be forced to a subscription model. And $100+ seems excessive to me in this day and age when there are (arguably) viable alternatives.

 

[sracer]

I agree. I'd much rather pay a one-time license fee then be forced to a subscription model. And $100+ seems excessive to me in this day and age when there are (arguably) viable alternatives.

How can someone who has a choice be "forced"? It's not like Microsoft is holding anything hostage... you said yourself that there are viable alternatives.

 

[shandyman]

How can someone who has a choice be "forced"? It's not like Microsoft is holding anything hostage... you said yourself that there are viable alternatives.

Well you can say that if someone wants to use MS office on iPad, they're forced to pay £80 per year to do so....

 

[Renzatic]

Well you can say that if someone wants to use MS office on iPad, they're forced to pay £80 per year to do so....

Yeah, and if I want to watch Game of Thrones, I'm forced to subscribe to HBO. Or if I want to use Final Cut, I'm forced to buy Apple products. Depending on how you look at it, everything is one great big circle of consumer coercion.

But as long as they're adding value to justify the new subscription model, I don't have much of a problem with it. When a company offers their software as a service, it's no longer about just the software alone. It becomes about the service as a whole. Most people will think "yeah, I used to pay a one shot fee for this, why do I need to pay yearly for it now", and the onus is now on MS (or Adobe, or etc.) to provide that reason. They have to provide timely updates. The software always has to run well. They have to offer extraneous services that strengthen the usability of the base program. It's got to offer enough to make people want to spend money on a month to month basis. If they can do that, then I have no problem with the SAAS model. But if all they're doing is saying "hey, here's the same thing you got before, but now with a monthly charge", then yeah, it deserves to fall flat on its face.

 

[maflynn]

The cost of the outright purchase is a whole other debate. $100 is definitely the wrong pricing for the app though in this day and age.

As stated, subscription model does not equal a "greater software/service ecosystem" for all users.

It is wrong, that's why MS is offering a personal use subscription at 70 dollar

For 100 dollars I get a new version of Office when it comes out. 45GB of storage, 5 installs on desktops and 5 installs on tablets. Plus each member of my family gets their 45GB of OneDrive Storage.

To me that's a good value of my money. To you its not, and that's fine, one size doesn't fit all and no one is forcing you (or others) to buy/subscribe to office.

There are other tools out there, like iWork. Pick the software application that best fits your needs and budget.

I think its a mistake to say that MS has failed to comprehend the needs of its customers and will fail with Office 365, because the facts do not line up against that supposition.

 

[shandyman]

Microsoft Launches 'Office 365 Personal' Plan for One Mac and One iPad at $69...

There are other tools out there, like iWork. Pick the software application that best fits your needs and budget.

Well since I pay £8.95 once every 3-6 years for MS office, i get to install that on 2 devices. But again, you totally miss the point. I, like many others, would like the option to pay a one off few to use MS Office on iOS, to keep the consistency. My friends and family all paid £90 for their copies of MS Office home & student, they also want the choice to pay a one off fee to use the iOS app. I had a few friends asking me how to use office on iPad and when it said you need to pay monthly, they were not impressed.

Your $100 dollars for a new version is more like $300 for each version. I get 10Gb of storage for free, significantly more than needed for using office.

I think its a mistake to say that MS has failed to comprehend the needs of its customers and will fail with Office 365, because the facts do not line up against that supposition.

I never said they will fail with office 365, show me where I said that?! I have only said they're missing out on some of their market. The have failed to comprehend the needs of some of it's customers. No one can say what percentage the audience is being neglected here though.

 

[Naimfan]

How can someone who has a choice be "forced"? It's not like Microsoft is holding anything hostage... you said yourself that there are viable alternatives.

Actually, I wrote that there are "arguably" viable alternatives.

And for most of my work, I have to have Office because the "arguably" viable alternatives are not viable for me. Outside work, I try very hard not to use anything from M$.

 

[AlbertaGuy]

I am not really looking for new version of Office on Mac as I know it will be ugly flat UI with bold font plastered everywhere along with some crap cloud storage where they can snoop on its user. For me Office 2010 is end of Office suite on windows platform and Office 2011 for mac. I don't see myself in the direction MS is following. Subscription model is gold mine for provider but it is never-ending expense for the consumer and it is pity that many people are falling for this crap.

 

[sracer]

Actually, I wrote that there are "arguably" viable alternatives.

And for most of my work, I have to have Office because the "arguably" viable alternatives are not viable for me. Outside work, I try very hard not to use anything from M$.

So in what part is Microsoft forcing you to pay a subscription? If your work requires you to use Office then it sounds like your job is forcing you not Microsoft.

Well you can say that if someone wants to use MS office on iPad, they're forced to pay £80 per year to do so....

Yes, you COULD say that, but you would be wrong.

 

[smoledman]

You apparently have an idea of what "more successful" means. Maybe Microsoft's definition is different. Maybe Microsoft doesn't want every iPad user to purchase Office, but wants every Office user to get plugged into the greater software/service ecosystem.

For every decision that a corporation makes, a claim of "not as successful as it could be" can be made. But they all assume to know what the company's end-goal is.

If Microsoft can't monetize those iPad users, then there was no point in developing iPad for Office. So far hardly anyone is buying MS cloud services like XBox Music or OneDrive storage.

----------

So in what part is Microsoft forcing you to pay a subscription? If your work requires you to use Office then it sounds like your job is forcing you not Microsoft.


Yes, you COULD say that, but you would be wrong.

Also since when does an employee HAVE to view an Office document on an iPad?

 

[Nuvi]

Depending on the complexity of document, the conversion is not 100%, especially between excel -> numbers - where numbers does not support all Excel's formulas.

The conversion from Excel to Numbers can be royal pain if you are unlucky and if your luck truly runs out then it cause serious problems. I've seen a long Excel table which was first converted to Numbers and then saved after which it was passed around like a real deal but unfortunately one screw up in formula caused the whole table to collapse.

 

[Michael Goff]

Actually, I wrote that there are "arguably" viable alternatives.

And for most of my work, I have to have Office because the "arguably" viable alternatives are not viable for me. Outside work, I try very hard not to use anything from M$.

M with a $? Isn't this 2014?

 

[Naimfan]

M with a $? Isn't this 2014?

Yep, just wanted to resurrect it for bit . . .

Apple, sadly, seems headed that way . . .

 

[Michael Goff]

Yep, just wanted to resurrect it for bit . . .

Apple, sadly, seems headed that way . . .

Headed what way? Being focused mainly on profit? All companies are mainly focused on profit.