More than 200 companies in NZ have purchased or are trialling Microsoft Online Services and the company announced new prices and availability for its business communication and collaboration software delivered as a service.

The Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) will now be available in 15 additional countries and regions starting later this week and includes global customers such as Lions Gate Entertainment and McDonald’s Corporation.

Microsoft’s National Technology Officer Brett Roberts said the 200 companies using Microsoft Online Services is a significant uptake as the suite only became available in April. Roberts said that this trend signifies a global trend toward software plus services delivered remotely.

“We’re committed to the cloud, and as more customers are signing up to Microsoft Online Services they’re finding a software that’s intuitive, familiar and constantly improved,” he said. “The response we’ve seen locally is mirrored in markets around the world.”

Due in part to rapid customer adoption, Microsoft is reducing the price by 35% for the Business Productivity Online Suite in addition to Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft Office SharePoint Online and Microsoft Office Communications Online.