MICROSOFT Corp. has launched Microsoft Office 365 – the company's next-generation cloud productivity service for businesses of all sizes – in the Middle East and Africa region. Previously available on a trial basis in markets across the Middle East and Africa, Office 365 is now commercially available in 16 countries across the region. The cloud solution will also be available with local pricing in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Leading regional service providers will bring the service to their customers. These leading providers will each integrate Office 365 with its other offerings and market the service to millions of small and midsize business customers worldwide. Office 365 brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date service, at a predictable monthly cost. The service was introduced in limited beta last year with enthusiastic response, particularly among small and midsize businesses. Over a few months, more than 10,000 organizations, many of which were small and midsize businesses, signed up and began testing Office 365, creating one of Microsoft's largest global beta programmes for businesses. With Office 365 for small businesses, professionals and small businesses can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lync Online and an external website in just 15 minutes, for a monthly fee. These tools put e-mail, voicemail, enterprise social networking, instant messaging, Web portals, extranets, video conferencing, web conferencing and more at everyone's fingertips. – SG
