Office for iPad May Not Work for Microsoft

Neal Alfie Lasta on Jun 4th 2012 in Apple 0

There are several reasons why Microsoft Office for iPad won't work. (Image: Taber Hawk (CC) via Flickr)

Microsoft says they won’t be introducing Office for the iPad, but two other sources, The Daily and BGR, say it already exists.

For now, we can only speculate about Office for iPad, and Microsoft is not saying anything.

Some of the speculations include reports from Business Insider sources who are close to the Microsoft Office Sales team, saying that Office for iPad will be released in November.

It seems logical to have Microsoft Office applications for Apple iOS, but according to Zack Whittaker of ZDNet.com, Microsoft has to deal with several challenges before it turns to reality.

For one, Microsoft will be releasing Windows 8 by October, making sure of properly timed release and in response to the highly competitive Christmas season.

Windows 8 will run primarily on Microsoft’s tablet platform, Windows RT, to compete against the dominant Apple tablet. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense to introduce Office for iPad, which will only make the iPad stronger, harming Microsoft’s sales.

Another problem is that Microsoft is putting a substantial amount of effort into accommodating cloud service with its next-gen Office applications. In particular, Microsoft will synchronize desktop files with SkyDrive. Given that Apple also has iCloud, this will be a huge impediment for Microsoft to surmount.

SkyDrive is already available as an iPad app, but cramping in iCloud with SkyDrive integration may not push through for the Office for iPad app, unless Microsoft agrees to use Apple’s cloud service.