Microsoft has announced plans to introduce new software services targeted at corporate customers willing to pay a monthly subscription instead of license fees.

The new services, announced on Sunday, are Microsoft's first major attempt at delivering software over the Internet as a "service" to its corporate customers.

The company said it will start to offer over the next few months e-mail, instant messaging and collaboration software to companies with more than 5,000 workers. Those applications will run on computer servers inside Microsoft's data centres and then be delivered to customers over the Internet.

The new strategy is a departure from Microsoft's current business model of selling licenses for software that runs locally on a customer's own computers.

Some companies like Salesforce see services eventually replacing traditional software, but Microsoft is pushing a "software plus services" strategy with the promise that this option combines the best of both worlds.

The other services Microsoft plans to introduce is Exchange Online, Office SharePoint Online and Office Communications Online. Exchange is Microsoft's e-mail application, SharePoint is its collaboration software and Communications allows for instant messaging.

The products, according to Microsoft, will work the same as existing offerings but the software will run on Microsoft's computer servers. Microsoft said administrators will maintain nearly the same level of control as if the software was on their own computers.

Reuters