14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Outlook.com is about to get one of the biggest updates in the last 12 months, as the Redmond-based tech giant is working to add support for apps that would greatly enhance functionality and connect the platform with more services across the web.
While apps are already available in Office 365, Microsoft is planning to offer a similar option to users of the free Outlook.com, reads a post on Channel9 that reveals the BUILD 2015 session schedule (via The Verge).
Developers will be encouraged to create apps for Outlook.com, and it appears that Microsoft will be offering a very easy way to do that, which would enable app makers to complete their new email apps in just 5 minutes.
“Yes, you read that right – in under 5 minutes, you can build *one* app, list it in *one* store and have it appear in Outlook.com, Outlook desktop and Office 365,” the session description published on Channel9 reveals.
“We’ve got many exciting updates since Build 2014 – from apps platform coming to Outlook.com, to simple development tools, to apps now able to place buttons among native Outlook actions. Learn about new capabilities, new UI entry points and best practices for building beautiful and powerful integrations via Apps for Outlook.”
400 million users and counting
According to figures that Microsoft provided last year, Outlook.com had 400 million users, but the company is expected to share more such data at this year’s BUILD developer conference.
The company has been investing massively in Outlook.com, and the email platform is becoming a much more important product in its long-term plans, especially as it continues the transition to devices and services.
Outlook.com is Microsoft’s number one rival for Google’s Gmail and will be an essential part of the Office productivity suite, either on a PC or in the cloud. Microsoft will detail all of these tomorrow at BUILD, including the consumer access to Outlook.com apps.