Redmond is responding to Apple’s big influence in the tablet market, sources say

Nov 30, 2011 10:30 GMT  ·  By

Sources quoted by The Daily say Microsoft is readying an iPad version of their hot-selling Office suite, and later for OS X Lion. Apple already offers proprietary productivity apps in a suite called iWork - available for both platforms.

The sources in question reportedly said the Redmond giant was actively working on porting Office over to the tablet computer segment, where Apple is king with 80 percent market-share.

So it only makes sense for the Windows maker to focus on developing an Office iteration that works with the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen to deliver productivity on the go for all types of users.

In addition to the iPad version, Microsoft is also said to have planned a Lion-friendly version for next year that should be made available through the Mac App Store.