Rumours about Microsoft Office’s arrival on Apple devices have been circulating for some time. At long last this comprehensive suite will finally be making an arrival on the App Store later this month.

For small business owners this is absolutely fantastic news as it’ll enable colleagues to view and edit various documents or excel spreadsheets for instance, on the fly.

Until this point, iPad users have had to rely on third party apps that offer similar/equivalent elements and features. All of them have had varying degrees of success. The most popular substitute has come from Google and it is called “QuickOffice.” Upon release, Google offered 10GB of free Google Drive space to anyone who downloaded the application. This immediately caused a storm in the app market, which leads me to my next point…

After all these years, there is a strong possibility that a considerable majority will choose to stick with a third party app simply because they are already accustomed to it. The fact that some applications such as: iWork are cheaper and easier only entices users to remain loyal. Not forgetting that these applications already offer iCloud integration. This is really a case of too little, too late for Microsoft.

It is just speculation at this point how the Office application will actually look. Some people have suggested that it will take cues from the current user interface on the iPhone version whereas others have said it will probably mimic the current aesthetics of Office 365. It’s certain to include the standard programs – Word, Excel and Powerpoint. No doubt Outlook users will be let down knowing that this app has not been initially included.

It goes without saying that any Office for iPad version will soon be competing against Apple’s own word processing apps – “Pages“, “Numbers” as well as “Keynote.” These three apps come free with all new iOS devices. Alongside this, Google offers free Office document creation, uploading and editing on Drive. Not forgetting, Office online itself.

In conclusion, it’s likely Microsoft will charge for this service in the same way that they are for iPhone. For that reason, it really will depend on whether you think it is worth forking out the extra cost for an Office environment on your iPad.

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