Microsoft Office 2016 Goes Live; Features Skype for Business and Collaborative Editing

Microsoft has officially unveiled the new Microsoft Office for the Windows and Mac platforms.

Dubbed as the Microsoft Office 2016, it comes with various new features to enhance the overall user experience.

Probably one of the most major features of the 2016 version is its real-time collaboration aspect. As explained by CNN Money, this feature works with the Microsoft Office's Share option, which is displayed as a button in opened apps and documents.

According to the site, once a document is shared, it will be stored in the OneDrive cloud storage of Microsoft. This action will also open an Outlook email with an attached Word file. Although the recipient of the email will see a Word file icon, this actually contains a hyperlink for the file on OneDrive.

Since it's in the cloud storage, opening the file allows both the recipient and sender to edit it and make other changes to its contents at the same time. This eliminates the need for both users to save the edited file and resend it to each other in succeeding emails.

Another main feature of Microsoft Office 2016 is Skye for Business. As its name suggests, Skype Business is specifically designed for professionals and companies.

Unlike the traditional version of Skype, which can accommodate up to 20 people through online calls, Skype for Business can be used to communicate with 250 individuals. In addition, it can also broadcast meetings for 10,000 users, Business 2 Community reported.

Skype for Business also has a feature that can record calls and meetings for future references.

As for Microsoft Office 2016's other minor features, the Windows version comes with a new search tool called Tell Me for Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Word.

The Mac version also has various new additions such as the Recommended Charts for Excel and Propose New Time for Outlook. It also comes with different color themes for PowerPoint.

According to Jared Spataro, the general manager for Microsoft's Office, the new additions for the latest version of the company's productivity suite are all designed to assist professionals and working individuals in their various tasks.

"This is a huge release for us, even though the user interface has largely stayed the same," he told CNN Money. "We've made the transition from 'me work' to 'we work.'"

Microsoft Office 2016 is now available for download for Office 365 subscribers, according to Life Hacker. For those who haven't subscribed yet, they may do so through this link.