Software : Colt lets SMBs cherry pick services

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Colt lets SMBs cherry pick services Posted: Converged IT services provider Colt has given small and midsized businesses a 'cherry pick' option through a new portal named Colt Ceano. Aiming at SMBs is nothing new for the company, but it is aiming to crank up this side of the business by making it easier for them to make short term choices. Colt Ceano has evolved from the company's SmartOffice, which operated in a similar manner, but includes a broader range of services and is said to have a simpler interface that should help companies in picking the services that they want and dropping them when not needed. It enables SMBs to pay only for what they need, scaling up and down as required, adding and removing services through the portal without any capital spending. All of the services are covered by a single contract. They include internet connectivity, voice over IP, Microsoft Lync 2010, SharePoint 2010, Soonr Workplace for virtual project workspaces, hosted virtual desktop services, managed virtual firewalls, virtual servers, cloud backup and disaster recovery services. They are hosted in Colt's data centres with firewall and backup, and underpinned by the company's pan-European fibre network. James Eibisch, Research Director for IDC, commented: "SMBs need clear and affordable services that are simple to use and can be scaled. Being able to cherry pick from the services available and pay only for the services and capacity they need is the key."

Will anyone still care if Office for iOS and Android launches in late 2014? Posted: Microsoft isn't planning to launch the long-rumoured Office productivity suite for iOS and Android devices until the autumn of 2014, a Wednesday report claimed. According to a leaked Office update roadmap, seen by ZDnet, the software giant will continue to hold off on unleashing the likes of Word, PowerPoint and Excel for non-Windows phone and tablet owners. The report said the 'Gemini' update schedule mentions "iOS/Android support," will be coming in October 2014 but doesn't mention specific devices. Office, especially for the iPad, has been rumoured since Apple's tablet first launched in 2010, but Microsoft has continued to play down the speculation, despite a host of high profile leaks. New Mac version incoming However, there is better news for Mac users, according to the roadmap. They'll be getting a new version of the suite in April next year, which will be the first update since 2011. This will be accompanied by an Office RT refresh, bringing new and improved versions of the software for Windows machines, but the long-awaited Outlook RT app may not arrive until October 2014, according to the report. Do you still care whether Microsoft launches Office for iOS and Android devices? Has the time passed? Will it really add much to either App Store or have the plentiful alternatives already filled the void? Let us know in the comments section below

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