Microsoft CFO: Cross-platform services key to Microsoft's Windows 8 iPad-compete plans

One of the perennial questions about Windows 8 — and one that many Microsoft watchers asked yet again last week after Microsoft’s latest disclosures on Windows on ARM — is what the Softies think they have to one-up the iPad.

Many believe Office will be Microsoft’s trump card, especially given Microsoft’s plan to “include” four Office 15 apps on Windows 8 ARM tablets and PCs. But if Microsoft ends up fielding Office for iPad, as rumored, that advantage may be moot.

During an appearance at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference on February 15, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein offered some more color on Microsoft’s plans to stand out from other tablet/PC competitors.

Services, including search; various consumer and enterprise cloud services; and entertainment services like those provided by Xbox Live are going to be key differentiators, Klein said, and will help drive device pick-up with Windows 8.

Microsoft has a growing set of both kinds of services that it will provide to users at home, at work and at play. As Microsoft officials have said before, the grand plan is to offer a core set of services across all kinds of screens: Phones, PCs, tablets and TVs.

ZDNet has the details HERE!