Samsung and Microsoft, which until recently were fighting it out in court, today deepened their business relationship — saying they will work together to bring Microsoft Office to Android in a much bigger way. Starting in the first half of this year, select Samsung Android tablets will come with a smorgasbord of Microsoft software pre-installed, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype.
The relationship with Samsung gives Microsoft a major beachhead on Google’s mobile operating system, part of a broader effort to expand Office beyond Windows PCs and tablets.
“We’ve proven that we’re not afraid to look outside ourselves to reinvent ourselves,” said Peggy Johnson, Microsoft’s executive vice president of business development, in a post announcing the news.
The companies said Office will be pre-installed on “select Samsung Android tablets,” without identifying which ones. Businesses that purchase tablets through Samsung’s business-to-business sales channels will be able to get one of three Office 365 subscriptions (Business, Business Premium and Enterprise) along with Samsung’s Knox security software.
It’s the latest business agreement between Microsoft and Samsung since the companies settled a patent dispute in February.
Under a plan unveiled earlier this month, Samsung will install OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on its new flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, putting the apps in the hands of users who might not have otherwise reached for Microsoft services. In addition, the two companies announced today that owners of the S6 and S6 Edge will get 100 GB of additional free OneDrive storage for two years.
The partnership could be good news for both companies. By adopting Microsoft’s popular productivity apps, Samsung makes its hardware more appealing to businesses that are built around Office. That’s key if the Korean device maker wants to play a larger role in the enterprise market. Meanwhile, Microsoft is expanding the reach of Office 365 at a time when Google is using Android to push Google for Work, a productivity suite that competes with Office.
Microsoft also announced expanded deals with Dell and other device makers to expand the reach of Office.
“These deals demonstrate how we are working with hardware partners in new ways to deliver rich experiences through their scale,” said Microsoft’s Johnson, who joined the company last year from Qualcomm as one of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s first major hires. “This is a big step forward for our cross-platform and cross-device services strategy, which will bring an array of Microsoft services to every person on every device.”
