Microsoft Mobile Services – how can we get the most out them on our mobile devices?
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is very bold on his “mobile-first, cloud-first world” strategy. When they rebranded Nokia Lumia to Microsoft Lumia, it marks a new era of openness in Microsoft where every device, including Lumia Windows phone, can leverage Microsoft’s own cloud-computing services - at no cost.
Take for example the Office 365. With more than 1 billion users, Microsoft makes their powerful Office application accessible on every device, every platform, and by every person or company. Now, Office apps are not only online, they are also accessible from any device - Windows, Android and IOS devices.
Microsoft Mobile Services are actually many. Over the years, through continuous innovations inside Microsoft, some of them were renamed and rebranded. Windows Live Calendar, Hotmail, MSN Mobile, Bing Mobile and SkyDrive are some of the most useful Microsoft mobile services since the early days.
With these numbers of cloud-based mobile applications and services, the question now for consumers like us is: how can we get the most out of them on our mobile devices?
Say you’re operating a small business, would you subscribe to Office 365 Business Essentials for $5 user/month or would you just ask your employees to create a free Office Online account? There are various factors that could influence our buying decisions. In this post, I am going to discuss four Microsoft Mobile Services that are offered on free and paid subscriptions. My objective is to present to you the available options that could fit into your current requirements - as an employee, freelancer or business owner.
OneDrive
OneDrive is available for smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. You can download the OneDrive app for free from various app stores. As a file storage and sharing app, OneDrive is hosted in Microsoft’s server network and runs on the SharePoint platform.
OneDrive for Business is a cloud service which you can only avail thru Office 365 subscription. That means more features, but you have to pay a subscription fee of $5 per user/month. If you’re already subscribed to Office 365, then you can add your OneDrive for Business account into the OneDrive app in your mobile device.
Office Mobile
If you’re working on a Windows Phone, the built-in Office Mobile app is accessible via the Office Hub. Office Mobile is consisting of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote mobile versions – which means they’re not as rich and powerful as the desktop office applications.
If you’re working on iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, you can download the Office Mobile, either as stand-alone app or as a complete apps package, from their respective app stores. These apps are free and you have the option to upgrade to Microsoft Office 365 if you need more features and services. These apps, however, will only work if your device is compatible with Office 365 technical requirements.
Outlook Mobile Service
Outlook is an email and calendaring system that are mostly used in large organizations. Popular Outlook versions are Outlook 2007, 2010 and 2013. One important feature of Outlook is its ability to import mails from other email clients (Gmail, Ymail, etc.) that supports POP3 and IMAP protocols. When Microsoft releases Outlook versions, they’re usually bundled with Microsoft Exchange Server or Microsoft SharePoint Server.
The latest version of Outlook mobile app is available for iOS, Android and Windows phone users.
In Windows phones, Outlook is accessible in the People hub. Other than sending/receiving emails, you can also use Outlook for scheduling meetings, task management, note taking, and web browsing. You also have the option to connect Outlook account to your Office 365 subscription.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure supports mobile app development on various mobile devices. This Microsoft mobile service is ideal for organizations that build and maintain mobile applications for their employees. Azure, as a mobile app cloud backend, has robust mobile services architecture. With Azure, you can store data in the cloud, authenticate app users, and send push notifications to your apps within minutes.
Through Azure’s Management Portal, you can easily create a new mobile service as well as create a new Windows app.
Other services offered by Azure are SQL database for creating application, virtual machines for Windows server or Linux image deployment, and websites for web application deployment on cloud infrastructures. Azure is available as free (with limited features) and as paid subscription starting from $14.99 per month/unit.
You may now select an option.
