In the announcement (received by email), the two companies will work together to offer a unique experience for Cyanogen users with native integration. Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook and Microsoft Office were mentioned in the announcement.
Microsoft has been pushing hard on competitor platforms, namely Android and iOS, to launch improved experiences for consumers to make full use of the company's array of services. This new partnership with Cyanogen is another step for Microsoft to attract potential customers.
Update: Here's how Cyanogen plans to implement these Microsoft apps and services
Cyanogen Announces Strategic Partnership With Microsoft
Cyanogen Open OS Platform to Offer Microsoft Services Later This Year
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - April 16, 2015) - Cyanogen Inc. and Microsoft Corp. announced a partnership to integrate popular Microsoft services across the Cyanogen Operating System. With offices in Palo Alto and Seattle, Cyanogen is a leading mobile operating system company that is evolving the Android platform to create a more open, level playing field for third-party developed apps and services.
Under the partnership, Cyanogen will integrate and distribute Microsoft's consumer apps and services across core categories, including productivity, messaging, utilities, and cloud-based services. As part of this collaboration, Microsoft will create native integrations on Cyanogen OS, enabling a powerful new class of experiences.
"People around the world use Cyanogen's operating system and popular Microsoft services to engage with what matters most to them on their mobile devices," said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world."
"We aspire to have our tools within arm's reach of everyone, to empower them in all aspects of their lives. This partnership represents another important step towards that ambition," said Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Microsoft Corp. "We'll continue to deliver world-class experiences across productivity and communications on Windows, and we're delighted that Cyanogen users will soon be able to take advantage of those same powerful services."
The distribution arrangement includes a number of Microsoft services: Bing services, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office.
