Why 2m people downloaded Microsoft Office

In the face of so many free options, why are people so loyal to Microsoft Office?

There are a few possible reasons:

Microsoft has a locked in user base. It is an enterprise standard. As the story goes, no one has ever been fired for buying Microsoft.

As one person replied to the question on Aardvark: "A lot of the free options simply aren't suitable for corporate use. You are basically out of luck if your free-no-guarantees Google Docs spreadsheet disappears. The free products do not have the complex formulas, interconnecting tables and client data that comes with Microsoft Office."

Another person stated on Aardvark: "That is because it is the most accepted office package. Try doing business without the capability. I had to purchase it just to be able to work at home instead of extended office hours. Now I am loading Open Office on all computers I repair and send out. I also think Google is going to do a large bite into Microsoft business."

This is where we wonder about how the events over the past few days may affect the future of Microsoft Office. Google is coming on strong with it's Nexus One. Couple that with its big push into the enterprise and you have to wonder what Microsoft is going to do to counter Google's undeniable momentum.

- It does what it says on the tin, and has a lot of functionality too
- It doesn't stop working if Microsoft's datacentre or the Internet falls over.
- Everyone else uses it so its easy to co-work