Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 9, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At its Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, Texas, Microsoft announced the launch of two new online suites under the name “Microsoft Online Services.” These services comprise a range of business applications hosted by Microsoft and made available to customers on a subscription basis.
The company also presented details of the new services’ pricing model and showed how partners can benefit further from these services through new areas of business.
Both the “Microsoft Online Deskless Suite” and the “Microsoft Online Business Productivity Suite” help customers exchange information and collaborate in teams. They allow companies to use email, calendar functions, contacts, shared workspaces, and web and video conferencing over the internet without having to set up their own server.
The two online suites are available now to customers in North America. Their German market launch is planned for the first half of 2009. Microsoft offers the online services either as suites or as individual applications. The Microsoft Online Business Productivity Suite consists of Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Communications Online and Office LiveMeeting.
The Microsoft Online Deskless Suite centres on two new tools—Exchange Online Deskless and SharePoint Online Deskless. The suites complete the range of solutions hosted by Microsoft itself. Alongside applications for medium-sized businesses and corporations marketed under the “Online” name, Microsoft also offers hosted applications for small businesses and home offices through its “Live” services.
Microsoft’s new online offerings are part of the company’s “Software+Services” strategy. This strategy is based on the conviction that businesses must be free to choose the software delivery option best suited to their business model or the way their employees work. In Microsoft’s view, this choice must not be limited to either online or locally installed applications, but must also support mixed forms and hybrid systems.
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Microsoft Online Deskless
“Microsoft Online Deskless” is a suite of applications for employees who typically spend only a small part of their working day at a PC but depend on continuous communication with colleagues and partners. The suite centres on two new applications—Exchange Online Deskless and SharePoint Online Deskless.
Exchange Online Deskless gives users access to email functions, calendars, global address lists, antivirus and antispam filters, and full integration with Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Web Access Light. SharePoint Online Deskless gives employees access to their company’s SharePoint portal, team sites and search functions, providing them with all important company information. Licences for a “Deskless” suite are available in the United States at a recommended retail price of USD 3 per user per month.
Online Suite for Information Workers
Under the name “Microsoft Online Business Productivity Suite,” Microsoft offers a collection of online applications aimed at information workers—employees for whom the computer is an everyday work tool. These online services are intended for companies of all sizes and allow them to use full-featured business software without having to invest large sums in licences.
Microsoft Exchange Online is a messaging service based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. It centralizes a company’s communications infrastructure. Instead of the many redundant data centres that manage email and communications traffic in large companies, Exchange Online provides a single service for the task.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Online provides users with a highly integrated virtual environment for company-wide collaboration. Employees can communicate with team members around the world, view resources, and search for, prepare and manage information. The suite will be offered in the United States as a complete package at a recommended retail price of USD 15 per user per month.
