Microsoft Office Comes Too Late To The iPad

With this week's release of the movie "Noah", a now distinct animal was late to board the ark.  Noah had just closed the doors and the animal and his mate were left out to the elements.  Today, with the announcement that Microsoft Office is available on the iPad, Apple CEO Tim Cook could have said the same thing.  He didn't but it still won't matter.  iPad users have found other alternatives to Microsoft Office, some that work quite well in collaborative user environments. 

The Office app may get downloaded and some may actually use it, but will it spark additional revenue in the Office suite of services?  I doubt it.  The rise of cloud based applications from Google and others have made the Office a less important piece of software.  In addition, PC sales have dropped while tablet sales continue to grow.  And users have found apps to support their business and personal needs.  Microsoft's Office has come late to the ark and while it may be lucky enough to get inside, will most likely be soon ignored. 

Personally, I have always liked the Microsoft Office suite and use it daily on my computer.  But it is a different story on my tablet.  That Microsoft has finally acknowledged the need to play in the mobile sandbox is great and with its new leader, the hope is that their is innovation on its way, to become the next generation Microsoft.  It is the potential of what can come next out of Microsoft that I look forward to hearing about.  As to Office on iPad, let the downloads and revenue numbers speak for themselves.