Microsoft expected to officially launch Office 365 next week

Microsoft has officially confirmed the launch its much-anticipated Office 365 cloud office application suite service.

The company has posted official notice of an event and webcast, scheduled for Tuesday 28 June from 1500-1600 GMT at the company's New York offices. Chief executive Steve Ballmer is billed to appear at the event.

While Microsoft did not reveal exact details about the event, it is widely believed to signal the launch of the Office 365 service. Earlier this month, a Microsoft executive let the targeted release date slip in a Twitter posting.

Designed to give Microsoft an entry into the cloud-based productivity suite space, Office 365 will allow users to access the normal suite of Office applications along with server-hosted platforms such as SharePoint, Exchange and Lync.

Wes Miller, research vice president of server applications for Directions on Microsoft, told V3.co.uk that the Office 365 platform would represent a significant update to Microsoft's current offerings.

"The most significant thing is that with Office 365 you get a much closer experience to what you would have if you were hosting on site," he said.

Miller believes that the platform will particularly appeal to companies looking to save on the cost of purchasing software for an on-premise system.

"A lot of small and medium-sized businesses are really going to jump at it," he said.

"And it will give a lot of enterprises something to think about as well."