In our busy modern lives (cliché, but true) we need and expect access to our files and documents from wherever we are and on whichever device we have on hand via iPhone, Android tablet, or the computer in the coffee shop. This necessity surfaced a need that many companies, us included, are working to address through making Microsoft Windows and Office available on mobile devices.

Concerns about legality of Windows and Office in applications from our competitors CloudOn and Onlive are being praised by tech journalist, research firms, and Microsoft.  See Brianmadden.com,  Gartner,  atarstechnica.com, and  Joe Matz at Microsoft.

We’re proud to say that when you use nivio, you’re using 100% legal, licensed software — in your Windows desktop experience, when you launch Microsoft Office, and with all software and apps available throughout the nApps store.

We want you to have all the access you need — and we recognize the need to be completely legal and licensed. Not only  for the security and integrity of your information and data, but also for the longevity and reliability of the service we provide.

1. Licensing Windows the right way for the cloud / DaaS : We license Microsoft Products under an agreement called SPLA, the Service Provider License Agreement, and we use the Windows 2008 R2 Server to deliver a Windows-7-like experience.  It’s worth mentioning that Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 share the same codebase (this means they are actually built on the same DNA) and so for all intents and purposes the experience to the user is the same.  Here is a screenshot of nivio nDesktop running Windows 2008 R2 in a Browser and the Loading Screen to show its server:

2. How do we deliver Microsoft Office?

We run it in the cloud on the Windows 2008 R2 Server and use the Remote Desktop Services (enhanced by some of our geeky tech) to any client that is connected to the internet including any HTML 5 Browser. We report this to Microsoft under SPLA and give 30 days (and in some occasions 60 days) free.  This free period is provided through our SPLA partnership with Microsoft.

3. It’s in our philosophy – more than licensing

We know that in using nivio our customers are adopting a new platform and trusting us to take care of the details — licensing, infrastructure, support, updates and more. It’s important to us as a company that we’re keeping the user’s best interested in mind. For us the best way to do that is to make sure all of our services run fully-licensed, legal and current software and to be transparent about our commitment to giving you a fully functional, licensed, secure and worry-free computing experience.