Microsoft's revenue is getting a haircut by iPad

Office, something that I rarely used ever since I moved to GoogleDoc, is still pretty commonly seen in office or big corporations. According to techcrunch's report, Microsoft reported about 9 billion dollars in revenue in their Business Department last quarter, and of that, 90% of it is from Office.

 I can’t find a breakdown of how Office products are used, but it’s a safe bet to assume that many people who bought Office have never even opened PowerPoint. If Microsoft unbundles Office, there’s a good possibility many people aren’t going to be buying Microsoft Office. They’re going to be buying Microsoft Word.

 Or, in other words, Word. (Pun intended)

Of that 90%, it is then further divided into 75% of that being enterprise sales and 25% being normal consumer sales. And this is where Apple strikes in with iPad, ready to trim the foundation tree of Microsoft Office with this sharp scissors.

It is a pretty obvious trend, that when you go into a local coffee shop or restaurant, you would see people using iPad to read, write, or watch videos. Surprisingly, in case you don't have an iPad or never knew about it, iPad is made by Apple and does not come with Office pre-installed. So, questions like "HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE ABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT OFFICE?" or "HOW ARE THEY WRITING A REPORT? NOTEPAD?" might arise, and you know what, there are plenty of other solutions other than Word(yes, they do exist!). One of the most commonly used is the GoogleDocs, but, assuming that if the user does not have internet access, example being that they are in a pretty shitty coffee shop that charges for internet access (not pointing any fingers, yet), there are still plenty of other alternative solutions.

Apple reported that about 25% of the apps on its appStore are productivity apps. Many of them are being rated as high as 4.5 out of 5 on the appStore and they are being sold at amazing prices. The average price for these apps on the appStore are around $9.99, a price that the Redmond office could not accept, being that the Office's Market Price is $125 dollar.

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Hmm, $9.99 vs $125, which one will I pick for a single/bundle apps on a device that cost merely $500? Unless you are a Microsoft-fanboy, I think the answer is pretty obvious. Even if Microsoft can somehow drop like 90% of its price to fight against the popular apps on the Apple appStore, how many people will be willing to switch back?

Microsoft, get ready for a big revenue haircut, in your Office department.