Microsoft has finally released an iPad version of its popular Office software suite, a breakthrough launching a new era under a CEO who has made it clear he intends to focus more on the devices that people are using instead of trying to protect the company’s lucrative Windows franchise.
The unveiling of the much-anticipated iPad apps for Microsoft’s bundle of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software comes nearly four years after Apple released the tablet computer that has contributed to a steady decline in sales of desktop and laptops and notebooks running on the Windows operating system.
Microsoft’s decision to to make its top-selling software application available on the world’s most popular tablet comes seven weeks after the company appointed Sayta Nadella as its CEO after being led for 14 years by Steve Ballmer.
“You see things from a fresh set of eyes and fresh perspective,” Nadella told a crowd of reporters gathered in San Francisco for his first major public appearance as CEO.
