There are many people who feel like the only document creation program that exists is Microsoft Word. More, they feel the only office suite is Microsoft Office. They’ve been conditioned to think this. Schools preach the need for students to know Office. “It’s what they will use in the real world” is how they phrase it. During the rise of computers, Windows and Microsoft had a stranglehold on the market, which led to Office being the default choice. It’s almost a given if you ask most casual users “what do you use to create keyed documents?”, their answer is Word.

The thing is, the landscape is changing. Microsoft is no longer the only fish in the sea. They’ve faltered so many times in recent years it’s surprising they have the market they still do have. Their arrogance regarding Office and its place, once justified, is no longer applicable, and they can thank Apple for that. More specifically, the iPad.

Before the iPad, even many Mac users still relied on Office for everything. And why not, there was a Mac version, and “that’s what ALL businesses use”, right?! But since the iPad’s release, more and more people have come to find it doesn’t have Office, as Microsoft has not released such a product. So users, which flocked to the iPad in the millions, were forced to use something else. Maybe the iWork app, Pages. Perhaps something like iA Writer. Whatever the choice, what they found was, Word is no longer needed.

They’ve learned that work, even for their business or school, can easily be done with another application. Most times, a much cheaper application. Now, some three years since its release, the iPad still has no Microsoft Office, but most users don’t even care. Microsoft missed their chance. They were too busy failing with Windows 8 and Surface RT, to see that they were pissing away a huge opportunity to solidify their place with Office even more.

Of course some schools and businesses still rely on Office, they paid for it…but, every day more and more find that iWork from Apple on the iPad, Mac, and iCloud.com works just fine for their needs. Every day another realizes Google’s offering in the cloud works just as well for what they need. Every day Office is a bigger and bigger afterthought, and Microsoft can only blame themselves. I on the other-hand am thankful. Now, students grow up using multiple systems, different document creation applications, and various devices. No longer tethered to the dinosaur that is Microsoft Office.