Microsoft and Dropbox are partnering to integrate the Dropbox cloud storage service more closely with Microsoft's Office suite and to offer better support. The joint venture will benefit Dropbox users who work on Office across desktop, mobile and the web. Meanwhile Microsoft's productivity suite it set to become the standard way to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files loaded from the Dropbox mobile app.
The deal will also create options to add Dropbox files from Office apps and the ability to share Dropbox links of Office apps, reports TechCrunch. Closer ties between the two firms' software will launch in the coming weeks with the new versions of Office for iOS and Android, and will extend to the two companies web apps in early 2015.
Teaming up with Dropbox may not be as surprising a decision as it first seems, with Dropbox's large user base of hundreds of millions of users and its 80,000 subscription paying businesses. Of course, Microsoft would probably prefer that its own OneDrive was just as big and lucrative, but sadly it just isn't. Also leaving out Dropbox would hinder the progress of Microsoft's efforts to push its Office 365 to be the cloud play for productivity, and its plans for Office 365 revenues to replace traditional Office sales figures.
"Today, Dropbox has 300 million users, of whom 70% are international, and a ton of them use Dropbox to get work done," said Dropbox’s Ilya Fushman. "These people have uploaded something like 35bn Office files. Today, they get a great experience on the desktop, but what we're doing now is taking that experience to mobile and the web."
"The other thing to note is that this has been one of the top customer requirements from Office users," added Microsoft’s Amanda Lefebvre. "We want to be working where they are working, so this is a win for Dropbox and Office users."
The partnership could see Dropbox finally gain the credibility in the enterprise that it has been trying to seize in the recent months, and with the deal clearly benefiting both parties, it will also help smoothing the sharp edges on Microsoft's public image.
Dropbox for Windows Phone and Windows tablets
Amongst all the news about the new partnership between Dropbox and Microsoft, the cloud storage service major also announced that it is finally launching a first-party app on Windows Phone and for Windows tablets.
Currently Windows Phone and Windows tablet users can access Dropbox via third-party clients, but the official app has always been missing from the App Store, perhaps due to the rivalry with Microsoft's own OneDrive. The move again confirms that the hatchet between the two companies is now deeply buried and the app is expected to become available in the coming months.
