Sprint Nextel, provider of wireless and wireline communication services, has announced that it will deliver Microsoft Office 365 to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Aimed at building upon the expanding portfolio of cloud-based solutions that Sprint has focused on launching this year, the Office 365 offering will join Sprint’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) planned for launch in late 2012, and Sprint Complete Collaboration, a Unified-Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) solution that was launched earlier this year.

Office 365 provides secure access to email, calendars, Office Web Apps, instant messaging, conferencing and file sharing, which allows employees the flexibility to work remotely on nearly any device. Easily installed and user-friendly, it includes built-in anti-virus technology and 99.9 percent uptime guarantee. Per-user, per-month subscription plans are available to ensure predictable annual costs as well as flexibility.

“Sprint’s open approach to cloud includes teaming with trusted industry leaders, like Microsoft, with proven solutions with which businesses are very familiar, to enable them to achieve greater agility to compete in today’s economy. Our focus on seamless integration of mobility with cloud services allows companies to extend our reliable and secure networks to their mobile workforces, so they can confidently use hosted services anytime, virtually anywhere and from any device,” said John Dupree, Sprint Senior Vice President of Business Sales.

When Sprint makes Office 365 available, it plans to bundle it with value-added services to create solutions that further increase productivity in the mobile workforce, but also to differentiate itself from simply being a resell opportunity for the channel. The combination of Sprint’s wireless data plans, access through its 3G and 4G networks, and scalable services with Office 365, will provide businesses with the tools needed to expand and grow.

Sprint offers a comprehensive range of communication services to consumers, businesses and government users. Having served more than 56 million customers by the end of the second quarter in 2012, the company is globally recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative products, including the first wireless 4G service by a national carrier in the United States. Sprint has also embarked on a multiyear network initiative, Network Vision, designed to enhance customers’ network experience with faster data speeds, improved voice quality and easier connectivity. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2013.