* Microsoft Office Outlook Live
Well, well, well. Just call me “The Great Kearnsoni.” Early this month, I predicted that Microsoft, seeking to even out its income so that its cash flow gained some consistency, would launch a subscription model for applications and services. Well, the news is that this is now beginning to happen.
A little over a week ago (https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/0120micromarri.html) Redmond introduced Microsoft Office Outlook Live (MOOL), a subscription service tying Outlook to it’s Web-based Hotmail e-mail service.
The $59 annual charge for MOOL (currently offered as a “special” at $44.95) includes Office Outlook 2003 for Subscription Services. With the subscription, all updates to the application come at no cost during the subscription term. Along with the Outlook client software, subscribers also get 2G-bytes of online storage, anti-spam and anti-virus protection, as well as the ability to send 20M-byte attachments to their messages.
Note that this is just a change in packaging. Much of this was already available to MSN Hotmail customers for a monthly fee of $9.95 under the name Outlook Connector, part of the MSN Premium suite. This, though, did not include a copy of the Outlook client. MSN Premium also includes standard ISP services (dial-up lines, portals, paid content, etc.) so directly comparing Outlook Connector at approximately $120 per year to MOOL at $60 per year isn’t really possible. Each person would need to evaluate the services each offers to see which is the better buy.
The new service will enable subscribers to set up multiple accounts for sending and receiving e-mail and to manage separate calendars and contact lists, such as one for work and another for personal use. Changes made offline in Outlook, such as deleting messages, adding contacts or scheduling a meeting, are automatically updated in the subscriber’s Hotmail account when they go online.
If successful, Microsoft could easily expand the services offered, such as instant messaging or adding Hotmail (and MSN) search to the Desktop Search engine now in beta. Should that occur, also expect collaboration tools designed for business use to start appearing as subscription services.
