Microsoft Office advancements are a boost for BYOD programs

Businesses with mobile workers can do more on more devices with Microsoft Office upgrades for iPhone, iPad and Android.

Microsoft is giving corporate BYOD programs a boost by upgrading its Office offerings for iPhone, iPad and Android to deliver more features free, increasing the likelihood that mobile workers will have better tools available to be more productive.

The company announced new free versions of Office apps for non-Windows devices that mean employees bringing their own phones and tablets to work can be productive using more features of Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

Most importantly, users can create and perform more editing functions on Office documents, although they won't get the full range of features that come with for-pay Office 365 subscriptions.

For iPhones, the user interface of the new versions of Office apps have been tailored to work better on the small screen. The apps Word, Excel and PowerPoint are also now available only separately rather than as the previous bundled version called Office Mobile.

For Android users Microsoft is serving up a preview of Office for Android, the same set of apps to run on Android tablets. General availability of the package is slated for early next year.

Microsoft is also working on upgrades to the user interface for Office apps that will optimize it for use with touchscreen Windows 10 devices, so mobile workers with tablets will be able to get tasks done more easily without keyboards.

Downloads of the new software are available:

Users can sign up for the Office for Android preview here.

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