Microsoft SkyDrive hits 1bn document landmark

Microsoft has announced that over a billion documents have been stored and shared on its SkyDrive cloud service, and also revealed users can edit documents without having an MS account.

SkyDrive is heavily integrated into Microsoft's latest version of Office 2013, which was released on the 29 January. The suite now allows users to save files directly to the web.

Microsoft is also encouraging users to pay for the subscription-based Office 365 package instead of going out and buying traditional optical media.

"Last week Office 365 Home Premium launched and we've seen a lot of enthusiasm over the seamless integration of SkyDrive for saving and sharing your docs," said Omar Shahine, Microsoft SkyDrive group program manager, in a blog post.

Meanwhile, Sarah Filman, a lead program manager on SkyDrive, also announced a new editing feature had been added to SkyDrive. This allows people to share and edit documents in the Office Web Apps without requiring a Microsoft account sign in.

SkyDrive sharing

"One piece of feedback we've consistently heard, especially from students, is that our current SkyDrive edit links can be frustrating for recipients when they find that they need to sign in or sign up for a Microsoft account just to make a quick edit to the document," said Filman.

"We hope that these changes will help make sharing and collaborating with others a quicker and more seamless experience," she concluded.