Boston, MA 05/15/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in late March 2014 launched its Office suite application for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad. The application includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The launch of Office for iPad is part of the software gorilla’s strategy to penetrate the mobile world with its office productivity applications.
In the latest update about the progress of Office for iPad, Microsoft said the download of the application has hit 27 million, almost double the download figure that the company provided a month ago.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides a free version of Office for iPad under which users can download for free to view presentations, spreadsheets and documents. However, the company provides a paid version of the office suite that requires either monthly or annual subscription.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) offers Office 365 for iPad.
Market traction
If the latest download figures of Office for iPad are anything to go by, it is clear that the application is gaining quick traction among users. The threat to Microsoft in the productivity suite is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) with its Google Doc application. However, Microsoft enjoys sticky user relation that means that people that have tried its productivity applications end up sticking with the company. As such, the company intends to increase the market share of Office for iPad to lock competitors out of the lucrative office productivity application market.
According to estimates, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) generates almost 40 percent of its revenue from Office productivity suite. In the calendar 2013, for instance, the company realized revenue of $24 billion from the segment, and it seeks to take the figure up to $30 billion in the few years.
In addition to Office suite being a big revenue earner for the company, the division also boasts the highest profit margins at 65 percent. If that success were replicated in iPad, the company could significantly increase its Office suite revenue. However, the immediate benefit that analysts expect with the launch of Office for iPad is stemming the market share decline in the Office division.
Service integration
Although Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) currently offers only what can be considered basic Office applications for iPad users, the company has the opportunity of enriching the product to attract higher revenue from sale to iPad users.
Office 365 has annual revenue of about $2.5 billion and analysts believe that big penetration into iPad market has the potential of driving up that figure to $3.5 billion over a short duration.
