The Russian office of Microsoft has officially announced the launch of operations of Russia’s first cloud-based business product service, Office 365, which will provide small and midsize companies with remote access to an online repository of documents by the end of the year.
VimpelCom, a leading Russian mobile operator, and SKB Kontur, a software developer, have become Microsoft partners on this project. While these companies are legally responsible before customers, Microsoft in its turn is responsible for the smooth operations of the cloud services to VimpelCom and SKB Kontur. Other companies seeking to offer Office 365 to their clients may join VimpelCom and SKB Kontur.
Microsoft Office 365 combines the well known Office desktop applications with modern solutions for effective collaboration and unified communications in the field of cloud computing: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online.
The launch of Office 365 marks the emergence of a new platform for software product sales in Russia: Microsoft Office applications will be available not only as software, but also as an online service. President of Microsoft in Russia, Nikolay Pryanishnikov, said that the user fee for Office 365 will be charged on a monthly basis and will amount to a few dollars. In the U.S. the price varies from 2 to 24 dollars depending on the services provided.
