Because of this, we view the web version of Excel just as important as the native Windows and Mac desktop versions, and we’re investing heavily to make the experiences just as rich. Additionally, we’re seeing more customers who prefer to use web based apps as part of how they work. Often people don’t have the ability to install/update native apps on their device, so they don’t have the latest version of Excel, and the web version is serves as a great alternative. This not only makes a better experience for the individual customer (since they can leverage all the advances we’ve made in the product), but it also benefits anyone else working with them (because of all the collaboration investments we’ve made). This post will primarily focus on the what and how but let me briefly cover the why… the web version of Excel is critical to our overall strategy as it gives us the broadest reach and helps ensure everyone has access to the latest version of the product.

By “ rich client” I mean the Windows and Mac native desktop apps.

As I explained last quarter, one of the Excel team’s key goals from FY20 was that “ Customers can use our web app for all their work and should never feel they need to fall back to the rich client”. This post is an overview of our investment strategy with the web version of Excel.