Currently, the iPhone OS ships with built-in read-only capabilities for Microsoft Office documents. Users attempting to make changes to Word, Excel, etc. files have had little options.

I’m curious to know exactly what types of updates these users are looking to make? In my experience, most of the users who access Office documents on the go simply view them quickly to get the information they need then later open the files on a computer to edit them and do the real work. I simply can’t imagine doing a vlookup() or countif() on my iPhone — don’t even get me started on pivot tables.

The point is it’s simply not practical for getting any real work done. Sure Microsoft will sell plenty of copies because of the novelty generated if they’re actually able to deliver on this. But as someone who spends most of my time in Microsoft Office from Monday to Friday, I can’t see how Office on the iPhone will realistically make me better equipped to do my job.

Under the new model via its web store, Microsoft is employing a technology called Electronic Software Distribution (ESD), whereby customers are able to immediately download the software they purchased once their transaction has completed. The major benefits of this approach are first and foremost, not having to pay extra money for shipping (or gas if you drive to a physical location), and secondly not having to wait for your package to arrive in the mail.

Microsoft has alleviated the most common fear of customers which is not having a physical disc of the software by allowing purchasers to re-download the product until mainstream support for the product ends — which is generally around five years.

Obviously from a Microsoft perspective this is a great move as it allows them to more directly interact with their customers while resolving some of the common, frustrating barriers of software distribution. Where it hurts is with the distributors and partners that Microsoft has formed strong relationships with over the past 10-20 years. These companies that have been selling Microsoft software and helping to expand the brand on a global level are essentially getting left out in the cold. Companies like Best Buy and Staples that sell a lot of Microsoft software could be facing a noticeable loss of revenue. Even if the profit margins on the Microsoft software weren’t that high to begin with, they’ll now be losing out on secondary purchases made by customers while they were in the store shopping for Microsoft software.