Microsoft Office 2010 takes aim at Google Docs
submitted by markodonoghue on 13 May 2010
Microsoft has revealed it's latest weapon in the ongoing battle with Google. The software giant has launched its flagship product Office 2010, aimed at businesses and home users. The latest version of the software has a free online version called Office Web Apps.
Analysts believe the online version is a response to Google's 'Docs'. Microsoft will also offer its online office suite to all users of one of the world's most popular social networking sites, Facebook.
The battle for the Office software market started in 2006 when the search giant launched the first of its Google Docs. "Until Google emerged with a credible suite of networked applications, Microsoft was not compelled to do anything."
Google Docs now offers word-processing, spreadsheet software and a presentation tool, amongst others. Businesses can also pay for premium versions.
Google Docs currently has a small (4%) but growing share of the market. Microsoft dominates the office software space, with a market share of more than 94%, according to Gartner. The vast majority of sales are to businesses. Business "is still overwhelmingly a Microsoft world", said Sheri McLeish, analyst at Forrester Research.
Microsoft retains its dominant position despite the free offerings from Google and other alternatives such as Zoho or the free office suite OpenOffice.org. Ahead of Microsoft's launch Google posted a blog urging businesses to switch to its software, claiming that it represents a real alternative.
"If you're considering upgrading Office with Office, we'd encourage you to consider an alternative: upgrading Office with Google Docs," it read.
Office Web Apps offers a free version of programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The service allows people to access and edit documents from within a web browser, as well as share and collaborate on files.
It lacks features found in the desktop versions, but is designed in part to entice consumers to try Microsoft's products, said Mr Teper. "One of the reasons why we are so excited about the Office Web applications for free...is the appeal to consumers; to get new people to try the latest versions."
Microsoft has said that the suite will be offered free to its 400 million Windows Live users. Its Social Connector service allows people to suck information from social networks such as LinkedIn and MySpace into the Office Outlook e-mail program. The firm has also released a trial version of its online apps that integrates with Facebook.
The software for PCs and phones was launched at an event in New York on 12 May. Business customers will be able to use it straight away, whilst home users in the UK will have to wait until 15 June to buy the full version.
'Cloud Computing' is all well and good but you are depending on connection to the web service. Supposedly the internet stopped working for some reason, it would defeat the point of Cloud Computing completely, you wouldn't be able to save your document as there isn't a connection to the web apps.
On the upside, I can see the logic for the percentage of people who aren't tied down to one computer as it would save money on buying equipment and software. Cloud Computing is still very new so this is still a trial and error situation.
Submitted by:
Mark O'Donoghue
Associated Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10107799.stm
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