Apple Inc. (AAPL) devices may soon host Microsoft’s Office 365

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) enthusiasts may soon have the opportunity to use Microsoft Office 365 on their favorite OS X or iOS device, according to speculation ahead of today’s major Microsoft news conference.

The subscription-based Office suite, currently offered to Microsoft Surface users for $99 per year, could make the leap to Apple products soon, if Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella gives the green light to the idea. According to rumor, this move is quite likely, and could generate $4 billion in additional revenue for Microsoft, as well as additional profit for Apple. Other estimates put the profit potential as high as $7 billion annually.

Mr. Nadella is slated to hold the much-anticipated conference at 10 A.M. Pacific time, or 1 P.M. Eastern time, according to Microsoft’s news page. Though the details are not certain, it is expected that he will announce the upcoming launch of three Office products for use on the iPad, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It is unclear if the products will become available today, or whether the newly minted CEO will simply indicate their coming arrival.

The move will likely undermine sales of Microsoft’s Surface tablet to some extent, but will launch the popular office productivity suite onto a highly successful platform it has heretofore been excluded from by the Apple (AAPL) versus Microsoft rivalry. The move may also herald deeper cooperation in the future, particularly in light of how recent versions of Windows have drifted towards an Apple-like approach to user interfacing. The many options and versatility of Windows XP have been replaced with the “what you see is what you get” and “one button” mentality of Windows 8, possibly making cross-platform software writing simpler.

Apple (AAPL), of course, stands to gain new users from those who might be tempted to try its products, but are too accustomed to using Microsoft Office for their work to switch easily to a platform that does not support it. Undoubtedly, the Cupertino electronics giant will gain a slice of the profits as well. For instance, it takes a full 30 percent of sales on the app store as its fee for providing the platform. Though its cut would likely be less in this case, it will probably make a billion or two each year from the deal.

Sharing of customer base between the two ecosystems seems to be the main incentive for the move on the part of both companies, however. Each makes tens of billions of dollars per quarter, and a few billion over the course of a whole year from Office 365 subscriptions would not significantly move the bottom line figures of either firm.

The potential for future cooperation between the two technological titans is another exciting possibility raised by Mr. Nadella’s anticipated announcements, however – and might even bring a merger between the two firms closer.