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Microsoft (News - Alert) has done quite a bit of preparation in order to make sure to get its Office 365 offering gets out to the general public. Among the preparations has been an approach that actually prices the Office 2013 suite higher than it has been in the past, hoping that the elevated price would move people towards the email hosting service and the cloud-based suite. Now it appears that Microsoft is moving forward with the entire Office 2013 suite, complete with Office 365, Sharepoint 2013, Lync 2013 and the email hosting program Exchange 2013 that have just been released to manufacturers.

Being categorized as Released to Manufacturers (RTM) is generally looked at as the next big step for a product before it hits the streets. Microsoft has managed to build up quite a bit of excitement for Office 365 by taking various approaches to getting this new product into customers’ hands. In fact, the technology giant is building extra excitement for the new Office portfolio by offering it up free of charge when people buy Office 2010 from October 19 on. The new solution will be more than simply a program users run from their computer as all of the usual functions, such as word processing, spreadsheet manipulation, presentations and email hosting management are available through the cloud.

Most industry insiders believe the new products can be purchased by the first quarter of 2013. Being released in RTM also seems to indicate that the cloud-based service will finally be fully functional and ready to use some time after the New Year. Touted as the most ambitious release the company has ever come up with, it appears that Microsoft believes that its additions to its email hosting services as well as all to Office 365 will bring in whole host of new clients and customers while strengthening its standing with those who are currently Office loyalists.