<p>SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - It may be one of Microsoft Corp's biggest squandered opportunities.</p><p>Tired of waiting for Office to be optimized for their mobile gadgets, a growing contingent of younger companies is turning to cheaper, simpler and touch-friendly apps that can perform word processing and other tasks in the cloud.</p><p>Take Artivest Holdings Inc, a New York-based financial services startup that sells alternative investment products. The New York-based company uses an app called Quip, which combines word processing and messaging, to handle all but the most sensitive legal and financial files.</p><p>"There are no more Microsoft Word documents being circulated. If someone emails me a Word document, I'll tell them to put it in Quip," said Artivest Chief Investment Officer David Levine.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-microsoft-office-analysis-idUSBREA2C20320140313">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://bgr.com/2014/03/13/microsoft-office-for-ipad-release-date-2/">Microsoft comes under even greater pressure to release Office for iPad</a> (BGR)</p><p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/13/technology/innovation/microsoft-office/">Microsoft launches cheaper Office 365 &#039;Personal&#039;</a> (CNNMoney)</p><p><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/03/12/office-for-mac-2014/">Microsoft: Office for Mac Will Get a Refresh Soon</a> (Mashable)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dvuH4-UZxjDCM2Mnrt9y4nC0Eu6eM&authuser=0&ned=us">195 additional articles.</a></p>