The MS Office Store

This week the MS Office Store opened itself up for business offering productivity and business-boosting applications for professionals. Computer users have known that the release was coming, but they didn’t expect the release results that Microsoft Office’s Store was able to produce. They didn’t just open – they flung themselves open into a marketplace full of heavy competition. The only difference is that the Microsoft Office Store is specifically designed to offer a full-line of SharePoint and Microsoft Office compatible applications.

Application Integration

Right now the applications offered on Microsoft Office Store are compatible with Excel, Word, Outlook and SharePoint. Applications can automatically be integrated into any of these apps for faster productivity, faster sharing and quick collaboration.

Popular Apps

There are hundreds of applications offered on the new MS Office Store, but some of the more popular and already rated applications include:

• LinkedIn for Outlook – Instantly connect a LinkedIn account to Microsoft Office for sharing and collaboration.
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary – Want the definition of a word? Look no further than the Merriam-Webster addition to define words in text.
• Groupon by PowerInbox – Groupon users already have dozens of ways to access the latest deals, but the MS Office Store now offers a Groupon application that can be instantly added to Microsoft Outlook for additional savings and location-finders.
• Twitter by PowerInbox – Messages can be Tweeted instantly directly through email. Recent Tweets are updated through this application regularly and users can follow their friends and family through email rather than logging into the site. All run through Microsoft Outlook.
• eFax – Before, faxing required using a desktop application or utility, but with the MS Office Store integrated applications, eFax users can fax directly from their Microsoft Word 2013 without a separate utility or visiting the site.

Getting Started

In order to get started, users will have to download and install Microsoft Office Preview. Preview provides a personal experience and new way to share, collaborate and experience the new Microsoft Office.

[Image via ghacks]