Microsoft Dynamics

Mobile ERP: Microsoft Office App for iPad

Written by Chandler Hutchison | Jun 23, 2014 5:00:00 AM
 
Microsoft Office for Apple’s iPad – leaving aside the fact that it sounds like a contradiction, Microsoft and Apple being two of the IT industry leaders fighting for digital supremacy, the most important question potentially defining your area of interest is: should you invest in this software product? Do you really need a version of Office especially developed for iPad?

To give you a straight answer, this version of Office is indispensable only if your employees use iPads to do their job. But why should you get new Office apps when you already have an on-premise or mobile ERP business solution that works on iPad? Read on to find out.

Microsoft Office: Capabilities for iPad

Microsoft Dynamics suite delivers some of the most comprehensive on-premise and mobile ERP systems available today. However, Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint remain the most commonly used software apps in the workplace. Why? Not only people feel comfortable using apps they know very well, but also these apps are compatible with a variety of software programs, including Dynamics solutions. For these two reasons, Microsoft has decided to develop versions of Office for different mobile devices, including those that belong to its competitors.

Considering the challenges most organizations face nowadays, such as dynamic workplaces, device and technology explosion, and new, stricter regulations just to name a few, Office for iPad includes a series of useful features that can help companies thrive, not just survive, in today’s business environment.

Before going into more detail, it’s essential to know that this software product is provided as three separate apps (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) that users must update separately. Additionally, only an Office 365 subscription will unlock all the capabilities of Microsoft Office for iPad, including:  

  • Enhanced Interactivity: Proposing new innovations in Natural User Interface (NUI), Office for iPad offers a fantastic touchscreen experience, more fluid than most users expect. Embedded with dual technology, the program can also be controlled with a mouse and keyboard. What’s really impressive is that the new Office works across Windows, Apple and Android phones and tablets the same way, which means that you can switch devices without worrying about functionality.
     
  • New Features: Office 365 provides a series of new functions, including powerful tools that facilitate fine adjustments of objects and pictures in PowerPoint; a “Recommended Charts” section that can’t wait to help you create the best graphical representations in Excel; and a new PDF editor that allows you to use specific PDF elements when creating documents in Word.
     
  • Mobility: New mobile capabilities give you the ability to view, create and edit Office documents, connect to different on-premise and mobile ERP solutions, host online meetings and join video conferences while on the go. A great thing is that your images, tables, footnotes, equations, formulas and animations are perfectly formatted, looking on iPad just as they do on any Mac or PC.
     
  • Social Capabilities: More and more social tools are being seamlessly integrated into the workplace. Supporting this new trend, Office for iPad provides Enterprise Social features that encourage collaboration, enabling employees to work in a truly pleasant yet productive environment.
     
  • More Insight: Embedded with special tools, Office 365 supports all types of data formats. This means that you can combine data from multiple worksheets to get comprehensive reports.
     
  • Increased Security: Equipped with robust security features, Office for iPad provides secure communication channels and denies access when malicious behavior is detected, allowing you to make the most of cloud computing.

What’s New?

Although the original version of Office for iPad was released without printing capabilities, Microsoft has already fixed this issue, updating Word, Excel and PowerPoint with new configurations that support AirPrint printers. Additional post-launch features include “AutoFit”, which works the same as the previous Office “AutoFit” function, enabling you to adjust the height of rows and width of columns in Excel, and “SmartGuides,” a very useful tool that you can use to align images and graphical representations in PowerPoint.

In an effort to deliver cutting-edge Office apps capable to complement the complex functions of its on-premise and mobile ERP solutions, Microsoft will find a way to bring all the features and tools included in the Office 2013 desktop version to the iPad.

View full post