Just a day after Microsoft rebranded its cloud service from SkyDrive to OneDrive, the company is making yet another change. The technology giant announced that it has released a web productivity service named Office Online.
Actually, this is a rebranded and slightly improved version of Microsoft’s Office Web Apps. The service is a web alternative of the company’s Office desktop programs. It is based on HTML and it can be used for creating and editing Office documents. Those include, for example, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote and Excel files.
Microsoft also shared the reason behind this unexpected rebranding. According to the company, the name Office Web Apps was confusing to consumers. Many of them thought them to be a mobile version of the Office programs.
Also, Microsoft has launched an entire website dedicated to Office Online dubbed Office.com. It is easy to navigate and it includes tiles similar to those seen on Outlook.com. Apart from offering access to a web version of the Office programs, the website allows users to quickly go to other online Microsoft services like Calendar, Outlook and People.
The service itself reminds of Google Drive. It has similar functions when it comes to document editing and creating. However, its design is a bit more appealing. In addition, it is almost the same as that seen in desktop Office programs. Nevertheless, both services offers less features compared to their desktop counterparts. Despite that, they are great for basic formatting an editing on the web.
Nevertheless, Office Online comes with a few improvements. As a start, it has a brand new application bar. As it was mention, the platform integrates other web Microsoft services. The new layout allows users to quickly switch from one Office app to another.
Another great improvement about Office Online is that it now enables users to easily search for templates. As soon as you launch one of the apps, you the service will ask you whether you want to open a blank file or to pick a template. Also, you can choose to view the latest documents you have uploaded on OneDrive. If you choose this option, you will be redirected to OneDrive. From there you can choose whether to open the file on your desktop or through the Office Online apps.
Office Online’s functions and capabilities are much more limited compared to Microsoft’s subscription service Office 365. However, it has the potential to challenge Google Docs.
