<p>The world's largest software maker Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ) announced that power and automation technology major, ABB Ltd. ( ABB ) chose to deploy its Office 365 and Yammer social network service in its offices globally.</p><p>The reason for deploying the Office software and Yammer is to equip ABB with advanced technologies involving the cloud, which is expected to improve the efficiency of its operations and improve resource allocation. It will also facilitate communication, productivity and collaboration among its 145,000 strong workforce across 100 countries.</p><p>Office 365 is sold as a service and therefore generates ongoing revenues for Microsoft instead of a one-time licensing fee. Launched in 2011, the new Office comes with the traditional word processing, spreadsheets and email programs.</p><p>In 2012, Microsoft acquired privately held Yammer for $1.2 billion. The deal was completed on Jul 19, 2012. Yammer specializes in creating private social networks so employees within the same company can form groups for free interaction.</p><p><a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/article/abb-selects-microsoft-office-365-analyst-blog-cm235917">Keep reading...</a></p>