At Mobile World Congress, Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 and that the device will ship with a few of Microsoft's apps bundled too. While many thought that was the end of the connection between Microsoft and Samsung on Android, Samsung has announced that with Knox, the company's security suite for the enterprise, Office 365 will now be included in that package too.
Knox is a secure segment of Android that includes hardware and software features to protect corporate data on mobile devices. Dr Injong Rhee, the head of the Knox program for Samsung, stated the following at Mobile World Congress:
Today I’m going to tell you about additional productivity applications from Microsoft. We have a deal with Microsoft which will be announced in a week or so, we’ll have a big announcement, so you have a sneak preview. We’ll have Microsoft OneDrive, and OneNote, and Office 365 come with Knox Workspace. When you download Knox Workspace, this comes pre-loaded.
For Microsoft, this is another way that they are working to weave their products and services into the Android space that has taken a large chunk of the mobile market. It is not clear from Rhee's statement if Knox will include a subscription to Office 365 as well or if that will be an additional fee (provided you do not already have a subscription). Seeing as this appears to be a pre-announcement of the deal, we should learn more soon about this collaboration.
It's no secret that Windows Phone has struggled to gain a sizeable share of the market which means the next best thing for Microsoft is to make sure their services are available to users of these devices. This deal with Samsung will place its Office 365 suite at the fingertips of those using the Knox platform for secure mobile productivity which is exactly where Microsoft hopes to up-sell its tools and services.
Via: The Register
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