Microsoft launches Outlook Web App pre-release for Android, requires KitKat and Office 365 business
Microsoft today launched a pre-release of its Outlook Web App (OWA) for Google's Android operating system. You can download the beta now from Google Play, if you meet the requirements.
Context & Ripple Effects
The beta extends a line that began when Outlook.com for Android picked up server-side search, aliases and vacation replies in October 2013 — but with a sharper edge: where that app served consumer accounts, this pre-release requires an Office 365 business subscription and Android 4.4 KitKat, making it Microsoft's first Office-grade email client aimed at enterprises on Google's platform.
Pickup was broad for a beta launch — Office Blogs alongside Engadget, Gigaom, 9to5Google and others carried it the same day — reflecting how closely watchers track Microsoft bringing Office-branded software onto rival mobile operating systems.
First-order effects
- Office 365 business customers running KitKat gain a supported native Outlook experience on Android through Google Play, while consumer Outlook.com users are locked out of the beta by the subscription requirement.
- Android IT administrators evaluating corporate email get a first-party Microsoft option instead of relying on generic ActiveSync clients.
Second-order effects
- Gmail faces an enterprise-grade rival distributed through Google's own Play store, and Microsoft gains a lever to convert Android deployments into recurring Office 365 revenue.
- Rival enterprise mobility vendors and third-party Exchange clients lose ground wherever Microsoft bundles the client free with subscriptions businesses already pay for.
Third-order effects
- If the gating holds, Office on mobile becomes a subscription benefit rather than a product you buy once — pushing the industry toward per-seat cloud services that follow users across platforms regardless of who makes the handset OS.
The trend: Microsoft is rebuilding Office as subscription software delivered on competitors' platforms, with enterprise accounts first and the client tiered behind Office 365.