Microsoft Office is finally getting a much needed upgrade with its newest version which is MS Office 15.

MS Office was first launched last August 1, 1989 which had a standard suite utilized in different institutions like businessess, schools, and homes everywhere. The usual bundle included MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, and MS Power Point. Additional suites were continually added as MS Office progressed and developed through the years. This latest version which is MS Office 15 offers much more than adding another suite-it is now integrating the latest technology and development thus pushing MS Office in other platforms and not being limited to PCs.

Steve Ballmer, the chief executive for Microsoft described the MS Office 15 stating that "This is a new generation of Office - Office as a service first". He also added that "We (Microsoft) will continue to make office available in the traditional way, but the Office we will talk about today has been designed from the get-go to be a service."

Here is a summary for the new features of MS Office 15:

New Design

In line with the newest version of Windows which is Windows 8, MS Office 15 is also integrating a new design and look. The suite of programs in MS Office 15 is now sporting a "Metro" look which makes it much easier to navigate.

Touch Controls

MS Office 15 now has touch controls which is better utilized for touchscreen devices such as tablets that are running Windows 8. OneNote and Lync are the programs that are more efficient when utilizing the touch controls because it has specific items on the menu which makes it easier to utilize. Aside from that, utilizing a tablet stylus for MS Office 15 is also made much easier and more improved.

Cloud Option

One of the biggest change in MS Office 15 is the "Cloud" option for users. This feature enables users to save their documents bu default through SkyDrive which means that they could access it through different devices whenever they are. Once a user signs in, they would be able to access their personal settings like templates, customer dictionary, and their personal files.

Social Integration

MS Office 15 is also taking the next step in their program and this means integrating social integration through sites like Skype, Yammer (a social enterprise), and LinkedIn. Users could easily access these social sites just by opening MS Office 15 since it is already linked into the program.

These are just some of the new features for MS Office 15. Microsoft remarled that there are "hundreds of new features" for this new version. Microsoft has not released a specific release date and price for MS Office 15 but some people are speculating that it will be released alongside its Windows 8 system which would be around October, 2012.

People who want to have a first-hand experience of MS Office 15 could download the Consumer Preview from Microsoft's official site.