Microsoft is about to one-up Google with Office 2016

Microsoft has had real-time editing for a couple years now, but it was restricted to their web apps, à la Google Docs. This time around, Microsoft is one-upping Google in the best way that it can, bringing its real-time collaboration feature to its Office applications.

The reason this is a big deal is because many people, including businesses) still use and rely on Microsoft Office because, well it just works. Google decided to move up on Microsoft’s turn when it rolled out Google Docs, giving users the option to edit documents together in real time. Microsoft followed suit in 2013, and now, according to The Verge, they’re stepping it up.

We should see the feature show up at some point during the Office 2016 release later this year, starting with Word and later expanding to Powerpoint and Excel. Microsoft is also looking to expand the feature to its iOS and Android apps, which would greatly improve Office functionality.

In the meantime, while we wait for Microsoft to release Office 2016, go here to check out the new Consumer Preview.

Source: The Verge