The rumors about Office for iPad have made their rounds for a couple of years, so we have to wonder why did it take Microsoft so long before the apps were finally shipped to iPad users? Could it be that the former-CEO, Steve Ballmer, had issues with Office for iPad and delayed it and that Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, was the one that gave it the greenlight?
Well it turns out that maybe Office for iPad took long than it should have for other reasons, but Steve Ballmer was definitely not one of them. Speaking during a Reddit AMA session, the team that put together Office for iPad revealed that the decision to ship the apps was made by Nadella became the new CEO.
It also turns out that the team responsible for the apps are also the team behind the Office for Mac productivity suites, which is apparently a pretty small team which might explain why it took them a while to get the apps out and ready for the iPad. We guess it’s better late than never and if the iTunes App Store charts are anything to go by, it seems that the apps are proving to be quite a hit.
In fact last we checked, the suite of apps have managed to be downloaded over 12 million times since its launch which is admittedly pretty impressive. However if there is a downside to the app it is that it requires a paid subscription to Office 365 in order to edit documents (viewing files is free), and in a market where there are plenty of free alternatives, there’s a good chance many will skip on the app for something that does not require a paid subscription.