Microsoft has released details and previews of the next iteration of its hugely profitable Office software suite. There are few surprises. Office 2013 will be more mobile and more cloudy (with documents synched up to Microsoft’s Skydrive). It’s also going to be more social (following the acquisitions of Skype and Yammer) and more touchy, as Microsoft naturally hopes to spur sales of its Surface device (see Microsoft's "iPad") and to get Office onto iPads and other tablets.
Office of course remains the dominant end user productivity suite in the workplace worldwide, with no sign so far of a mass defection to, for example, Google apps. It'll be interesting to see whether that dominance is affected by the march towards bring your own technology (BYOT), as more individuals get the opportunity to choose their own software. Given Office's price points, you can imagine some cost-conscious consumers looking very seriously at robust, compatible alternatives.
But for now, like it or not, changes in Office have an appreciable impact on the working lives of the vast majority of us, so the media interest in today’s announcements is understandable. We’ll be keeping an eye on developments too.