Microsoft Teams Up With Dropbox To Put Office In The Cloud

Microsoft and Dropbox announced anew partnership on Wednesday, that will allow users to access Dropbox directly through Office apps, and vice-versa.

This merger allows users access to their Dropbox folders directly from any of the Office programs available (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc), as well as create, edit, share and send any Office file (Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation) directly from Dropbox and sync them across all available devices.

The service is planned to be available across different devices, computers, tablets and phones, but it will first be available from within the Dropbox and Office apps on tablets and phones. Later on it will be accessible via the Web.

The new features will be available in the next Office apps, iOS and Android update that should arrive in the upcoming weeks, Microsoft said in a statement published on their website.

Web integration is expected in the first half of 2015.

"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's CEO, Satya Nadella.

"Together, Microsoft and Dropbox will provide our shared customers with flexible tools that put them at the center for the way they live and work today."

"People around the world have embraced Office and Dropbox to empower the way they live and work today," said Drew Houston, CEO and co-founder of Dropbox. "Our partnership with Microsoft will make it easier than ever to collaborate seamlessly across these platforms, giving people the freedom to get more done."

Dropbox has become home to more than 35 billion Office files, while over 1.2 billion people use Office products, claims Microsoft.