“Xbox One is ideal for small business owners”

Microsoft is positioning its upcoming video games console Xbox One as tool for businesses.

The system can be used for video conferencing, file sharing, presentations, phone calls and more.

And Microsoft’s Director of Consumer Camp Marque Lyons claims that features such as Skype and SkyDrive make the console an ideal alternative to other video conferencing and networking devices, reports MCV.

He might have a perfectly legitimate point, but try pitching that one to your boss.

In an open letter spotted by Neowin, via Eurogamer, Lyons wrote: "What is being positioned as an excellent entertainment device can be just as enticing for you and your small business. 

"In fact, it’s entirely justifiable to make the Xbox One a business expense. 

"The Xbox One, priced at $499 [£429 in the UK], is an affordable option for small business owners, as there are many features built into the console that could help it rival even the most modest of video conferencing and networking platforms."

He went through the advantages of having Kinect as a bundled microphone/webcam for video conferencing, SkyDrive’s cloud-based file sharing system, the SmartGlass as a different way to control presentations on the screen, Internet Explorer on large screen TVs and Snap Mode to compare sites with SkyDrive files.