Competition of the Free

 

Microsoft and Google have started to vie with each other for the global mobile office market. Their strategy is to make office programs free on mobile devices. 

According to industry sources on May 6, Google released two new apps, Docs (word processing) and Sheets (spreadsheets) for Android handsets and iOS devices on April 30. The search engine giant is also going to make Slides (presentations) available to everyone free of charge. 

Although document viewing is completely free on Microsoft’s Office Mobile apps, the all-new iPad version still requires an Office 365 subscription to edit. Unlike Microsoft, Google made advanced features that let users view and edit Microsoft Office files free for everyone.

Aside from these free apps, the Internet giant has a Quickoffice app for iOS and Android that was acquired in 2012. In Sept. of last year, the Quickoffice mobile app became available as a free download for Android and iOS. The mobile app can be used by being linked with Google Drive, a file storage and synchronization service provided by Google. Chromebooks, which runs on Google Chrome OS, are also equipped with the apps.  

Google’s strategy to offer office apps for mobile devices free of charge can be interpreted as its effort to check the influence of the giant software company, which released its Office Mobile app for iPad for free on March 27. This is due to the fact that as an increasing number of people are using smartphones or tablets at work, the role of programs for businesses like Microsoft Office on mobile devices is becoming more important. According to data released by market research firm Acorn in April, 74 percent of Korean office workers are using smartphones for their work. 

A source in the software industry remarked, “Like e-mail, the Office feature is an important element in the corporate service sector, which can affect other business areas.” The source added, “Google and Microsoft appear outwardly to be competing with each other for the Office feature, but the real reason to provide office apps for mobile devices for free is to expand their influence in the corporate sector.”

With Google’s office apps for mobile devices becoming available for free following Microsoft’s Office Mobile apps, local software companies’ position in the mobile office market is likely to be weaker.

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