Microsoft, DataOne eye exporters

MICROSOFT and DataOne strengthened their partnership by adding more “cloud-based” technology products in the local market.

DataOne marketing manager Jesse V. Divinagracia said they would be targeting the exporters in Cebu and other foreign companies setting up offices here for their products.

Last week, Microsoft launched Office 2013 and Office 365, which are the first “cloud-based” office applications the software company is offering, which was prompted by the continued popularity of “cloud-based” technology in the world.

The new Office will work well with Windows 8 which they are promoting especially to those still using Windows XP and Office 2003, said Diana Dibbs, Microsoft director.

Based on their data, there are currently 3.6 million desktop users in the country still using Windows XP and which they are targeting to start migrating to the new Windows 8 as they will be ending support for XP and Office 2003 on April 8, 2014.

Divinagracia agreed that using the right technology could be the key to achieving growth in a company especially the small and medium enterprises which mostly have a limited budget for technology.

“Competitive CEOs should make their businesses more efficient by shortening the procurement process, minimizing their IT costs and avoiding further delays, and one way they could achieve this is by jumping into the cloud,” he said.

Businesses that migrate their IT systems to the cloud can save at least 50 percent of their expenses.

This is because the cloud minimizes the cost of infrastructure, management and support,” he said./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap