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Dell customers will now have access to the full suite of Microsoft (News - Alert) Office 365 applications from virtually any Dell device including desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

When Dell purchased Quest Software earlier this month, the president of Dell’s (News - Alert) software group, John Swainson, confirmed that the company wanted to sell software products alongside its networking, services, storage and server offerings. The company’s announcement of its partnership with Microsoft is consistent with its new strategic vision.

“Dell is committed to helping small- and medium-business customers realize the full power of the cloud,” said Cindy Grogan, executive director of software marketing of Dell, in a press release. “Microsoft Office 365 with Dell saves customers valuable time and resources by providing access to our trusted 24x7x365 customer support and certified technicians with one common billing platform.”

Grogan also mentioned that the Office 365 offering was part of Dell’s commitment to improve both collaboration and productivity anywhere, anytime.

With Office 365, SMBs can enjoy a unified inbox and calendar. They can also set up quick and easy online meetings and utilize a centralized SharePoint portal to share documents.

“With the availability of Office 365 to Dell's customers, Dell and Microsoft are enabling SMBs to be more mobile, more secure, and more productive,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, U.S. small and medium businesses and partners, Microsoft.

Unpredictability is always a challenge that SMBs face. By utilizing Office 365 with Dell, SMBs will lock in predictable monthly pricing for SharePoint, Lync, and the MS Office suite starting at $9 per month. Software upgrades are part of the package, meaning that businesses won’t have to outlay $100 or more when a new version of the software becomes available.

Monthly subscription plans also provide a steady stream of income for Dell and Microsoft.

In addition to the basic plan, Microsoft offers more expensive Office 365 packages that come with 60 Skype (News - Alert) minutes per month, 20 GB of online storage in SkyDrive, hosted Exchange and extra apps. For instance, home users get Outlook, Access and Publisher while business users get Access, Publisher, InfoPath and the Lync client.

The Office 365 with Dell package is more expensive than Google (News - Alert) Apps. However, Office 365 users receive the same apps offered on Google in addition to the added desktop apps.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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