Microsoft is teaming up with Dropbox to offer Dropbox users better support for Microsoft Office and better integration into Microsoft's products.
The move is being made in response to the whopping 1.2 billion Office users who also use Dropbox, which hosts a massive 35 billion Office files. The move is viewed by many as surprising and as recognition by Microsoft that it simply isn't able to compete alone, as yet, in the cloud storage industry.
"Access to Dropbox content popped as one of the very first [Office for iPad] requests that customers had," said Kirk Koenigsbauer, head of Microsoft's Office Engineering team. "They want access to where their content is. We're doing it to make sure customers have a great experience."
The partnership includes four parts. The first is that users will be able to quickly edit Office documents from the Dropbox mobile app. Secondly, users will be able to access Dropbox documents from Office apps. Thirdly, users will be able to share Dropbox links of Office apps. Last of all, users will be able to create first-party Dropbox apps for Microsoft's mobile products.
"It's really about creating a deep connection between Dropbox and Office," said Ilya Fushman, head of product for Dropbox and Dropbox for Business. "We think this is a huge win for our users. We think this will result in the best possible experience for people trying to get work done, and trying to get work done on the go."
The fact that Microsoft is bringing the changes to mobile apps highlights the importance that mobile has in today's world.
Microsoft seems to be realizing OneDrive simply is not going to be the dominant cloud service. The software company is doing a good job of ensuring that users don't suffer because of that. Dropbox is currently a leader in cloud storage, although it is likely Microsoft will still push OneDrive.
"In our mobile-first and cloud-first world, people need easier ways to create, share and collaborate regardless of their device or platform," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "Together, Microsoft and Dropbox will provide our shared customers with flexible tools that put them at the center of the way they live and work today."
While the exact terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, it seems the deal mostly benefits Microsoft in an attempt to keep rivals such as Google from striking similar deals with cloud storage players.
