"The Office 2010 will be available for both businesses and consumers in June," Microsoft Corp's India chairman Ravi Venkatesan told reporters here on the sidelines of an seminar on social inclusion here.

The latest version features office web applications which will include online versions of MS Word, Excel, Power Point and OneNot. It will allow sharing and collaboration of documents and files.

Microsoft had already released the beta version, a soft launch, of MS Office 2010 and related web applications in November 2009.

Early this month, the company also unveiled in India its latest offering in the area of cloud computing called Windows Azure that will help companies share software and storage facilities and bring down their total IT spend by as much as 50 percent.

In cloud computing, companies share computer resources, such as servers, software and data storage, through the internet, instead of setting up such infrastructure at their own end.

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In a Wednesday conference call with Wall Street analysts, Microsoft executives said Windows Live pulled in $520 million in revenue in fiscal year 2009, but posted a loss of $560 million. This is by no means a recent trend. Overall, the Online Service Business posted an operating loss of $2.2 billion during fiscal 2009, after racking up a $1.2 billion loss in fiscal 2008.

Tami Reller, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Vice President, Windows Business Group, said Windows Live operates at a loss primarily due to data center construction costs, research and development, and sales and distribution costs.

"The investments in the data centers is one of the most significant investments in the Windows Live business, and really is a result of the large customer base and the strong competitive position that we have today across these services," said Reller.

Windows Live, which includes Hotmail, Live Messenger, and Skydrive, has more than 500 million users, and makes the bulk of its money through online advertising, according to Microsoft. As the user base grows, Microsoft will continue to invest in building out the data center infrastructure to support them, while also maintaining its investment in R&D, sales, and distribution, according to Reller.

"It is an organizational move, not new or changed investment," said Reller.

Microsoft will report its fiscal 2010 first quarter results on October 22, and Wall Street will be looking for some signs of improvement from several consecutive dismal quarters. Slowing PC and server sales have decimated Microsoft’s business, and company officials have called the situation the most difficult economic environment the company has faced in its history.

Source : CRN

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