Microsoft Office 365 rollout kicks off in Australia

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 13:16

Business IT - Technology

The first paying custoner for Microsoft's Office 365 cloud service signed up in Australia at 11.55pm last night. Microsoft launched its Office 365 cloud service here in conjunction with Telstra.

Oscar Trimboli, director of Microsoft Australia's information worker business, said the company had a "unique partnership" with Telstra. Not only was it the company's first syndication partner for Office 365 anywhere in the world, it had also signed the world's first paying customer for the cloud service.

Office 365 provides the Office web applications, SharePoint Online, Lync Online, and Exchange Online for  $7.90 per user per month, and is largely intended for use with existing Office licences. Alternatively, $15.70 per user per month buys those features plus a full Office licence allowing installation on up to five computers per user. The number of seats can be adjusted up or down as frequently as monthly.

As previously reported, these prices are significantly higher than Microsoft is charging in the US.

While Lync provides for PC to PC communication, Telstra will be able to provide mobile and landline termination to its customers for click-to-call capability, Mr Trimboli said. Further details were not available at the time of publication.

"We're excited about what Skype can bring in that space," he added. Microsoft recently acquired Skype.

Mr Trimbole said Office 365 works with Chrome, Firefox,Safari and "even Internet Explorer," and supported mobile platforms include Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Symbian. "Office 365 is about ensuring users can work on any device they choose," he said. While the services are available via the browser on those mobile platforms, the mobile Lync client was initially available for Symbian on Nokia only. Versions for Windows Phone 7, iPhone, BlackBerry and Android were expected by the end of 2011.

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