I bet you never thought you would hear the term “Microsoft Office for Linux” associated with “reality,” but it looks like it just might happen – well, indirectly at least. Microsoft recently announced that it is planning on bringing Microsoft Office to the cloud. Now, that might not actually be Microsoft Office for Linux, but it certainly would be Microsoft Office on Linux – at least if Microsoft complies with web standards.

This is really why I support web applications so much – it means that applications are cross-platform without the creator even bothering or wanting to make the application cross platform. For Linux, this means that if web applications catch on, suddenly Linux will have access to the same array of applications that Windows and Mac OS X have.

While I certainly don’t expect to see this cloud version of Office very soon, the possibility that it will eventually appear brings up the question of would it be good for Linux to have Microsoft Office available?

I believe that there are two main reasons to want Office on Linux:

1. OpenOffice does not have perfect compatibility. While it is hard to fault the OpenOffice developers for it, it is, unfortunately, a reality that some people really need Office. This need, however, is largely filled by WINE or WINE-based solutions. Still, an official Office for Linux would be nice.
2. Knowing that they could get Microsoft Office on LInux would probably reassure many new users. Apple is constantly promoting Office for Mac, despite have their own competitor. Why? Knowing that Office is available makes users more comfortable making the switch.

So, in conclusion, though you and I might ignore Office for Linux, it would have benefits for Linux and it really cannot be a bad thing.