The Microsoft’s Office 2013 is expected to be released in late January 2013. It will contain major revisions to the famed Office software bundle that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and others.

The new cloud capable product will be much cleaner, works with touch technology, and allow cloud based file saving. Most of all users can share the new product on wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. One advantage will be the ability to work on shared projects by many users. Microsoft expects to add to the new software as they develop new products rather than waiting for new releases every few years. The estimated time to update Office is every three months. Rather than purchasing the product, users can pay $100 per year service fee that will include five family licenses, 20 gigabytes of cloud (SkyDrive) storage capacity, and 60 minutes of free Skype calls per month. One third of Microsoft’s income comes from software, more specifically from Office software and has about one billion customers worldwide. Critics say in light of Apple and Google’s success on smart devices, Microsoft needs to reinvent Office and other software products to compete in the market place and grow in the future.