According to Bob O’Donnell of research firm IDC, “The day they introduce Office for iOS and Android, they’ll start printing money.” And he added this cautionary note: “If they wait too long, they risk people finding alternatives, or workarounds.”
The thing that has turned Microsoft, prince of Redmond, into a vacillating Hamlet is the thought that an Office suite for iPads and Android tablets might well tank already anemic sales of the Surface RT and keep the Surface Pro from taking off.
Its hesitation is understandable. Office on iOS and Android would kill Microsoft’s Surface tablets. That means that the choice Microsoft is facing is huge: whether to continue its foray into being a hardware vendor or go back and shore up its software roots.