Microsoft as for long time not made a version of their popular office software, MS Office, for iOS, but that could change soon according to a job ad by the company. It was posted on 14th July on its own careers website in which it requires applicants who have, “Hands on experience with Mac OS X development technologies” and “Knowledge and experience with Microsoft Office for the Mac.”, to be based in the Silicon Valley campus in Mountain View, California. The ad also mentions specifically PowerPoint,  for creating presentations, plus  Excel, Exchange, Outlook and Word.

There already is a version of MS Office that runs on Mac OS but not yet available for the iPhone or iPad. Apple and Microsoft have been in discussions about porting the software for and now appear to have reached an agreements for it to happen. Currently iOS users are having to use of other office software, such as QuickOffice, recently bought buy Google. There is also talk of the software coming to the Android platform for certain devices.

MS Office for iOS could be at odds for Microsoft; it is a big money spinner for the company and making it available for two other platforms would only increase sales and profits, but then if users have it on their rival devices, it would mean one less reason for them to go out and buy the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet. MS Office is widely asked for on many platforms, for work and home use, plus iPhone and iPad are the most popular ‘bring-your-own-device’.

Applying for the MS Office job can be done via this page.