Well, that took longer than expected. Although Microsoft began bundling Yammer with Office 365 shortly after acquiring the enterprise social networking (ESN) startup in mid-2012, users so far have had to log in separately to both suites, an inconvenience that will soon end.
By unlocking core edit functions in its free Office apps for iOS and, later, Android, Microsoft is trying to close out pesky rivals in the mobile market and lure new subscribers to Office 365.
Microsoft has unlocked a set of authoring and editing features for the free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint available for iPhone and iPad, and soon will do the same for Android tablets and Android smartphones. However, a number of capabilities remain available only to users who subscribe to Office 365.
Microsoft, reluctant for many years to port Office to rival platforms like iOS and Android, changed course little over a year ago and is now doubling down on its cross-platform effort.
In the latest example of Microsoft partnering with a major competitor, the company has struck a deal with Dropbox to improve interoperability between Office and Dropbox's cloud storage and file sharing services for consumers and businesses.
Microsoft has switched on special search features in Office 365 designed to help IT administrators keep tabs on employees' spreadsheets, a task becoming more difficult and more important in enterprises.
Google has struck a partnership with PwC in which the global provider of consulting services will recommend to its customers the Apps suite, Android devices and the Google cloud computing platform.
Microsoft will no longer try to "one up" competitors in cloud storage, opting instead to eliminate the ceiling for consumer and business subscribers of its Office 365 suites, a move that will put it on par with some vendors and ahead of others.
Microsoft wants to deliver a new wave of apps that are intuitive, intelligent, and mobile- and cloud-friendly -- and its latest move is with Office Mix, a PowerPoint add-on aimed at teachers, for recording presentations and making them more interactive.
Apps admins will be able to communicate with Google tech support staffers via online chat, complementing other existing options, including phone calls.
Microsoft wants to promote the use of OneDrive for Business among Office 365 customers, so it's building links between the work cloud storage service and Outlook Web App (OWA), the suite's browser-based email interface.
Reacting to chronic complaints that Office applications have become unwieldy with endless menus and features, Microsoft is developing a streamlined presentation application built from the ground up for mobile devices and cloud computing.
The release of Delve, the first application to use Microsoft's Office Graph machine learning engine, will be remembered years from now as either the genesis of a revolutionary technology or as a fireworks-style launch that dazzled everyone only for a brief moment.
European government agencies should adopt open document formats in their dealings with citizens, outgoing European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has urged.
Microsoft has begun a months-long rollout of Delve, the first Office 365 application that taps into the suite's Office Graph machine learning capabilities and maps connections between co-workers, documents and information.