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At Microsoft’s TechEd customer conference on Monday, general manager Julia White announced that Office for iPad had been downloaded 27 million times so far. The suit of productivity apps launched in late March and has remained on the Top Free Apps list ever since. After nearly four years of the iPad’s existence without a full version of Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, it is interesting to see the success the company is experiencing so far with the iOS version of the app.
Back in April, Microsoft told investors that Office 365, the subscription service that allows users full access to the productivity apps, had grown in revenue more than 100 percent with 4.4 million subscribers to the family plan, Office 365 Home. The five-computer subscription plan saw an increase of one million new subscribers in just three months, showing that interest in Office in the home is growing in popularity more than ever.
Microsoft has not yet released full numbers regarding all of its Office 365 subscriptions. The company has three family tiered options, plus a Small Business, Small Business Premium, and Midsize Business plan. Additionally, Office 365 has three tiered options for enterprise.
With 27 million iPad downloads, but only 4.4 million Office 365 Home subscribers, it is difficult to tell just how well the app is doing. Based on the available numbers, Microsoft is only making money off of one-fifth of the downloads. However, it is important to note that the small business and enterprise level subscriptions, plus the Office 365 Personal (one PC and one tablet) could have increased significantly over the past six weeks.
I’d be more inclined to believe that much of the 27 million downloads were from people excited to try out the free parts, but are not yet willing to invest a monthly subscription for the full use of the features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the iPad.
[Via: Business Insider]
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