App Stores seem to be all the rage at the minute and it looks like Microsoft plans to bring a store to its next version of Office. Windows 8 Beta has discovered that on the Microsoft careers site there is a position open for a marketing job with the Office 15 team which mentions an “Office App Store”.
The job description described how Office faces competition from OpenOffice.org and Google and says how to combat that Office is moving to the cloud. It goes on to say how the Office team are planning Office 15 and the candidate for the position described would need to work across Microsoft with many teams including Windows 8.
As we launch Office 2010, we are beginning the process of planning for Office 15 and are looking for a Product Manager to drive Office 15 strategy for partners.
This position is responsible for the strategy and planning including identifying key scenarios that will allow partners to make money on the Office platform – across LAR’s, VAR’s, SI, ISV’s and Outsourcers. A key output includes an end-to-end business plan that informs Office Engineering and drives our business forward. Work includes defining the product value proposition, key scenarios and requires the use and understanding of tools like MOA (Market Opportunity Analysis) and a perspective of the competition to prioritize future investments. You will drive the innovation agenda that excites our partners in areas like “Office App Store”. This position will also be responsible for working across Microsoft with teams like Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Azure to ensure alignment with our business planning.
Very little is known about what Microsoft plans to add to its Office suite in the next version although it’s thought that there will be a great focus on the cloud and the software should allow many options to save, share and collaborate on documents in the cloud.
There has been leaked information about Windows 8 in which a Windows App Store was mentioned and concept images shown. It looks as if Microsoft believes in keeping their older, more mature products relevant by providing a single place to buy apps for the products in a similar way to how some of the company’s (and its competitors’) more modern products offer.
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