Microsoft and Cyanogen have announced a strategic alliance that will allow the integration of well-known Microsoft services into the Cyanogen Operating System.

About Cyanogen

Cyanogen is a mobile operating system company that is known for its custom Android builds, which offer personalization features, an intuitive interface, speed, improved battery life, and enhanced security. The company aims to evolve the Android platform by developing and evolving a more open operating system for third-party apps and services.

Goal of replacing Google’s Android OS

With the partnership in place, both companies aim to compete with Google’s core services on Android devices. Microsoft has been eyeing the Android market for a while, and has been involved in the development of software that converts Android phones into Windows devices. Similarly, Cyanogen has criticized Google on more than one occasion for the way it is handling Android. As such, it’s clear that this collaboration is the outcome of mutual interests of both companies.

Microsoft’s role in the partnership

Through its OS, Cyanogen will integrate and distribute Microsoft apps and services, which include productivity, messaging, utilities, and cloud-based services. A few of these services include Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook and Microsoft Office. According to Microsoft, these services won’t be mere ports of their respective Windows counterparts. Instead, the company is looking to build native integrations on the Cyanogen OS and create a new class of experience.

Microsoft’s joint venture with Cyanogen comes in the wake of other similar partnerships between the company and Android smartphone and tablet makers. Samsung is including a few Microsoft apps and services with its Galaxy S6, while Dell is also looking to do the same on its own Android devices.