Samsung Tablets To Ship With Microsoft Apps

Samsung tablets will come pre-installed with Microsoft mobile applications as the two companies seek to expand their share of the enterprise market.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype will be available to consumers, while tablets sold through Samsung’s enterprise channels will also have access to the Business, Business Premium and Enterprise versions of Office 365.

Business users will be protected by Samsung’s Knox enterprise mobility management platform and provided with setup assistance and ongoing support. The deal should help Samsung and Microsoft better compete with the likes of IBM and Apple, which are teaming up to provide iPads and applications to the former’s business customers.

Samsung Microsoft tablet partnership

Samsung has long been concerned about possible saturation in the consumer smartphone and tablet markets and hopes the business space will allow it to maintain the levels of growth it has become accustomed to.

“Our goal is to meet the ever-evolving needs of both consumers and business customers and give them more power to discover new mobile experiences,” said SangChul Lee, executive vice president of the Strategic Marketing Office at Samsung’s mobile unit. “We believe our suite of premium mobile products coupled with Microsoft’s productivity services will offer users the mobility they need in both their personal and business life.”

Microsoft Office has long been touted as a key differentiator of the Windows and Windows Phone operating system, but the company is now focused on getting Office 365 and its other services on as many devices as possible in order to increase subscription revenue. Android versions of the apps are already available to download through Google Play.

“Our partnership with Samsung is emblematic of our efforts to bring the best of Microsoft’s productivity services to everyone, on every device, so people can be productive wherever, however and whenever they want,” added Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Microsoft.

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