The wait is finally over after a long period. In the growing competition from rival companies such as Apple and Google, Microsoft finally launches, Office 2010. Microsoft, in order to keep a hold in its leading position in business application market, has made this strategic decision.

The new suit is the updated version of the previous office application. The new release is important keeping in mind free web applications and office suites from Google that are grabbing considerable market share.

New features: The popular applications of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are much enhanced in MS Office 2010. They also have their own web edition to keep up with the pace of development in mobile technology. This is a much needed up gradation after 2006. This updated version of MS Office is packed with scores of improvement, like the facility of editing images in MS Word. You can bring into play videos while making PowerPoint presentations and you can now collaborate and manage e-mail communication much easily. You can also manage and share documents saved on remote servers

Challenges: The major competitor of MS office is Google Docs, which are available in line, without downloading any software. Moreover, Google Docs is absolutely free for personal users and there is a nominal charge per year for corporate. Google Docs, which was launched 4 years ago, now claims to have over 24 million users.

Microsoft also faces tough competition in the areas of calendar and email programs, especially in the mobile segment, where Google already has a strong foothold. These two areas are where Microsoft needs some drastic improvement and innovation to beat the current competition. We can expect MS Outlook completely compatible with smart and business phones. However, at the current scenario, Microsoft is going to keep price of its products reasonable to capture the market.

Microsoft derives a major chunk of its proceedings from the sale of its Office suites. MS office has the credit to be the second highest revenue earning product, only after MS key Window franchisee. It is now to see the performance of MS 2010 which will be up for sale next month. Prices ranging from $120-$500 for each package, depending on the level of performance.