Central Desktop, a provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) collaboration platform, has introduced its new cloud-based Microsoft Office collaboration tool, Central Desktop for Office.

Central Desktop for Office offers integration between Microsoft Office and the cloud to improve the way people collaborate on Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

The company said that its offering adds a new toolbar in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint that allows users to interact with files stored online without having to open a web browser.

Using the new toolbar, multiple users can simultaneously edit the same Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in real-time, as well as open and save files directly into the cloud.

Central Desktop for Office is powered by OffiSync technology and is compatible with Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 and 2010.

Central Desktop CEO and co-founder Isaac Garcia said that they wanted to develop a way for companies to easily engage in web-based collaboration while remaining in the familiar Word, Excel and PowerPoint environments.

"Central Desktop for Office solves this issue by enabling users to access, edit and co-author files stored in the cloud directly from within Office," Garcia said.

In order to foster discussion and collaboration, the tool bar adds file comments directly to any Word, Excel or PowerPoint document, and it also notifies and manage collaborators.

The updated document is automatically added to the online version history in Central Desktop, and search for other Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are saved in the cloud directly from the Central Desktop for Office toolbar.