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For the First Time, Microsoft Got More Revenue From Office 365 Subscriptions Than From Traditional Office Software Licensing (axios.com)

Posted by msmash on from the gaining-ground dept.

Ina Fried, reporting for Axios: Shares of Microsoft hit record territory in after-hours trading on Thursday, topping $75 a share, after the software giant's better-than-expected financial results. As has been the case for the last several quarters, strength in Microsoft's cloud business, including Office 365 and Windows Azure, was the key to the company's growth. Of note, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood told analysts that, for the first time, Microsoft got more revenue from Office 365 subscriptions than from traditional Office software licensing. Why it matters: Microsoft has shown an ability to grow its business even as the PC market has stalled, reflecting moves the company made in the cloud both since Satya Nadella took over as CEO as well as some that were in place before he took over the top spot.

6 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. Absolutely baffling by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    98% of the people who use office simply type letters and notes, maybe make a simple spreadsheet or two. Openoffice is entirely up to the task.

    I really have to give Microsoft credit, figuring out a way to make people pay rent on something as simple as a word processor.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:Absolutely baffling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      98% of the people who use office simply type letters and notes, maybe make a simple spreadsheet or two. Openoffice is entirely up to the task.

      I really have to give Microsoft credit, figuring out a way to make people pay rent on something as simple as a word processor.

      Openoffice is unfortunately a pretty dead project and should probably not be touched or recommended to anyone who do not know what they are doing.
      Instead, go with LibreOffice (a fork of Openoffice) that is maintained and have a good amount of developers behind it.

    2. Re:Absolutely baffling by MangoCats · · Score: 5, Funny

      I talked with an engineer in ~2005 who "wanted to try Linux" - he asked how he would do things like Word, Excel (Open Office) Photoshop (GIMP), Internet Explorer (Firefox), etc. in Linux. I told him about the equivalent software, his response:

      "You mean I'd have to learn new names and icons for the programs? I don't think I'm up for that much effort..."

  2. Re:No surprise there by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Although it is an annual rent which is going to turn off a lot of people I now consider it a regular business related sense such as dry cleaning or a commute-capable car or for that matter taxes on income. If you want to be a grown up there are things you have to pay for.

    It is precisely THAT kind of thinking that is going to possibly eventually *doom* us all to perpetual, rental of software, rather than ownership (perpetual license if you're picky)...and that is NOT a good thing for consumers.

    Once the companies have you trapped in rental..they really have no incentive to improve and innovate now do they?

    We've seen it with Adobe's Creative Cloud rental system....you haven't seen any truly breakthrough improvements to date. Yes, they roll out some nice things here and there, but nothing that is earthshaking. I've certainly not found I miss anything by still using my CS6 apps I bought.

    And we've seen problems with Adobe CC...they will roll stuff out that breaks on peoples systems, and well....you're SOL till they can get an online fix out, meanwhile, you lose business.

    There are also people who've lost out by having their registration get lost in the system or broken, and again...they are SOL till customer service can help, and well, I think with most of these places we know the terms "customer service" and "help" are mutually exclusive terms.

    I can see it going this way with ANY software rental.

    The best way to avoid this is to pay with your wallet.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  3. Re:No surprise there by imidan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I ended up converting last year and it is actually a better deal all around.

    Okay. I bought a retail boxed copy of Office 2010 Home some years ago. Let's say 2012, since otherwise it would be Office 2013. It specifically allows me to install it on multiple computers (three to five, I can't remember; I only have it one two). I don't remember exactly what I paid anymore, but let's pretend it was $150 (that's what a standalone copy costs now). That means I've had use of this software for five years at an amortized cost of $30/year. That cost per year continues going down every year that I still use 2010--and I will, because at the moment, I don't perceive that there have been any great advances in word processing technology in the last 7 years. The cost of Office 365 Home is $100 per year. That really doesn't sound like a better deal to me.

    If you want to be a grown up there are things you have to pay for.

    And if you want to be a smart grown up, you don't pay more for things than you need to, especially by paying over and over again for things you can just pay for once.

  4. if you don't like it, *donate* to LibreOffice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If we want good, open, free alternatives, it helps a lot to donate to the projects.

    I donate to Debian, KDE, LibreOffice, GnuPG, and more.

    Even for OSS projects, being able to fund developers makes a big difference. Put your money where your mouth is. Stop giving money to Microsoft, start giving money to OSS. At least the latter will respect your rights (*) and not treat you as the enemy.

    (*) insert systemd joke here.