Microsoft struggles to win over V3.co.uk readers with Office 365

Over half of V3.co.uk readers have given Microsoft's cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite the thumbs down, saying that it will not persuade them to switch from their current version of Office.

In our latest reader poll, we asked what appeals most about the new web-based version of Office, which was launched to great fanfare last week.

Analysts have generally been impressed by the package, an upgrade from Microsoft's current Business Productivity Online Standard cloud offering, labelling it good value for money and a genuine rival to Google's web-based apps.

However, some 53 per cent of V3.co.uk readers said they will stick with the current version of Office, while just under a third are not Office users and had no plans to deploy the software.

Despite the favourable reviews, Microsoft could struggle to market its latest cloud offering to organisations, a problem highlighted again this week when it emerged that the company had to pay a US university hundreds of thousands of dollars to persuade it to invest in the product.

A post on Nebraska University's web site revealed that Microsoft provided $250,000 in "business incentive funds" to help the university migrate from Lotus Notes to Office 365.

Some 13 per cent of V3.co.uk readers who were more positive about the product  said they were attracted by the ability to work from anywhere thanks to the cloud-based architecture.

A further four per cent said that Offive 365 appealed because it brings enterprise-grade functionality to the smaller business, while a lowly one per cent rated its subscription-based payment model.