Microsoft Malaysia launched Microsoft Office 365, the multi-suite cloud service at a special media event at the Westin Kuala Lumpur. This follows the global launch of Office 365 in New York late last month. Office 365 brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service with affordable monthly subscription packages. Since its introduction as a public beta last year, more than 200,000 organisations have signed up and tested the service.
Attending the launch was SME Corporation Malaysia CEO Dato’ Hafsah Hashim who said, “When Microsoft first showed us Office 365, we recognised that this was the way businesses would work in the future especially for the SMEs.”
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“With Office 365, Malaysian SMEs are able to save both money and time, but most importantly, they are able to work together better — no matter where they are — not just within their own organisations but also with partners across their entire businesses ecosystem. The potential yield from these collaborations and synergies are nothing less than transformative,” she added.
Over 99% of businesses in Malaysia are SMEss, accounting for 37.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); about 56% of total employment and 20% of exports.
Office 365 offers a range of service plans for a predictable monthly price from USD2 to USD27 per user per month. Customers can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lync Online and an external website in minutes, for as low as USD6 per user per month.
In conjunction with the Malaysian launch of Office 365, Microsoft Malaysia is holding a contest on Facebook to encourage Malaysians to download and use the free 30-day Office 365 Trial.
All Malaysians 18 years old and above are eligible to take part. Contestants will have until August 3rd, 2011, to submit a testimonial about their experience using Office 365 in 5,000 characters or less. Entries will be published on Facebook and visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite entries. The 10 most popular testimonials will enter a final round of judging by Microsoft.
The winning testimonial will receive RM20,000 and an HTC Windows Phone 7 smartphone, while the nine runners-up will each receive an HTC Windows Phone 7 smartphone.
To find out more about the contest please visit: http://apps.facebook.com/trysharenwin/
Office 365 for small businesses and Office 365 for enterprises are available now. Businesses can try Office 365 for free for 30 days by signing up at http://www.office365.com. Follow Office 365 on Twitter @Office365, Facebook ) and the Office 365 blog athttp://community.office365.com for the latest information.
