Microsoft hasn't ruled out Office for Mac App Store
Office is available to Windows and Mac users. But so far, it hasn't come to the Mac App Store. Could that change? Microsoft says it won't rule it out.
Microsoft might not be selling Office in the Mac App Store now, but that doesn't mean it never will.
"It's something we are looking at," Microsoft's Amanda Lefebvre told All Things Digital's Mobilized blog in an interview yesterday. "It's something we haven't ruled out. We just have to see how that relates to our business."
The Mac App Store, which launched earlier this month, could provide Microsoft with another viable outlet to profit on its productivity suite on the Mac. However, there would be consequences to such an action.
For one, Apple currently takes a 30 percent share of all sales of paid applications in its marketplace, leaving the remaining 70 percent to developers. If Microsoft brought Office to the Mac App Store, it would effectively provide Apple--one of its top competitors--with a significant cut of its potential profit.
It's also important to note that Microsoft currently only sells Office for Mac as a bundle featuring the company's many applications. Bringing Office to the Mac App Store could force Microsoft to offer its applications, like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, separately.
Microsoft acknowledged that point in an interview with CNET last year. The company's Office boss, Kurt DelBene, said that offering individual applications in the marketplace would be "a point of discussion with Apple." He wouldn't say if Office would eventually make its way to the Mac App Store.
If it does, it will be met with competition from Apple's iWork suite. The company currently sells Numbers, Keynote, and Pages separately in the marketplace.