Stefan Mileschin

A Morgan Stanley analyst has waded into Microsoft for refusing to run its Office product on Cupertino's shiny toys.

According to CNBC, the Vole might be missing out on $2.5 billion in revenue by not offering its Office Suite.on Apple's iPad.

The figures are based on a recent note penned by Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Holt, which said he estimates that, priced at $60, about 30 percent of iPad users would buy the software.

With 200 million iPad users in 2014, Microsoft could generate $2.5 billion in revenue, and that is after it pays Apple a 30 percent App Store commission.

According to CNBC it is all to do with Volish pride which is the reason that Microsoft is reluctant to offer a full version of its software suite on Apple's iOS.

Holt said in the note that ultimately Microsoft would have to give up and decide there is more upside with Office on iPads, particularly if Windows tablets fall short of expectations.

The logic appears to be that Microsoft is only holding off on sticking Office on the iPad because it wants to keep it as the killer app for the Surface tablets. The underlying premise is that the Surface is going to fail so there is no point keeping Office from Apple fanboys.

But even if the Surface fails there is a perfectly logical reason why Microsoft would not want to put Office on the iPad. If it carried out such a port it would give the iPad an app which is actually useful.

It could also cannibalise Microsoft's Windows by giving an endorsement to Apple's iOS operating system. It is worth losing a billion or two just to prevent that happening.

http://news.techeye.net/software/mic...osts-a-fortune