Office Live is set to come out of beta on Wed. Nov 15, and at the same time launch into beta in four new markets, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. The set of services, aimed at very small businesses (VSB), offers free custom domains, domain name Office Live Mail and Windows Live Messenger accounts, and a tiered set of services, from the free Office Live Basics, to Office Live Essentials ($19.95/mo) and Office Live Premium ($39.95/mo).
The new launch introduces some new services - an AdManager beta that initially features Microsoft adCenter and Live Search ads but will be expanded to include other search engines and business directories in the next 6-12 months, a new online Business Contact Manager with browser access from anywhere or a full offline component using Microsoft Office 2007, and, with MS Office Accounting Express 2007, product sales management through eBay. Again, this service is due to be expanded in 6-12 months to include other sales venues such as Shopping.com, Craig's List, Windows Live Expo, and sales through Office Live websites.
I spoke to Baris Cetinok, Director of Project Management and Marketing for Office Live, about the new release. We covered a lot of ground in a short time, and Baris is a fun guy to listen to. Enjoy!
LiveSide interview - Baris Cetinok of Office Live
(8.71mb download)
| VSBs - under served by technology |
0:00 |
| New Features: AdManager and Site Designer |
2:49 |
| The AdManager Beta |
5:07 |
| Office Live Business Contact Manager |
5:59 |
| eBay and more: Accounting Express 2007 |
8:29 |
| Surprises from the beta: non-profits |
11:54 |
| Continued improvement on Collaboration |
15:14 |
| Migrating from the beta |
18:24 |
| End |
19:02 |
For more on Office Live (and lots of other Windows Live offerings) check out the LiveSide List. I'll be updating the Office Live article quite a bit in the next day or two, so check back often!