A Suite Sell

New online applications put Microsoft’s Office suite to the test.

BY LEE GIMPEL | ILLUSTRATION BY TRAY BUTLER

For all that is new and different every year in IT, there are some constants, one of which is the domination of Microsoft ’s Office suite of basic productivity applications like Word and Excel. Considering their centrality to everyday computing and the revenue they generate— last year Microsoft ’s business division, which includes Office, had an income of $10.8 billion on sales of $16.4 billion—it’s not surprising that companies are trying to take a bite out of the pie.

However, instead of trying to wrangle for space on the desktop, these companies are pursuing an on-demand model in which the all-important word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications, as well as e-mail and calendars, are accessed through a web browser. You can upload or create documents online, then edit and save them.

The new players include Google Apps, Zoho, Yahoo!’s Zimbra, Adobe’s Buzzword (word processing only) and Th inkFree. Noticeably absent is Microsoft , which seems content to stick to its desktop cash cow for now. (Although Microsoft Office Live Workspace allows you to save documents online and collaborate on them, it still requires that Office be installed on the computer you’re working from.)

These online applications tend to be geared toward individuals, lacking the support that businesses demand. Even so, they can oft en outperform desktop applications for collaboration on documents. Jonathan Edwards, an associate analyst with Yankee Group, notes that Zoho and Google Apps are targeted at businesses as well.

The online apps allow you to save significant space on your hard drive, while making documents available nearly whenever and wherever you are. You can also save significant dollars because the online products typically cost $50 or less per user per year; many are free.

While there are numerous positives, many people are sticking with the rule of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Or, as Evo Networks Inc. CEO Christopher Erckert— who sits on the board of the Huntington, NY, Chamber of Commerce—says, “No one got fired for choosing Microsoft Word.”

Although you can export from these online suites to standard Office file formats, the translation isn’t always flawless. And while features are being added regularly to the online applications, they still lack the breadth offered by their desktop equivalents. “If you have an accountant who lives and dies in Excel, there’s no possible way they can ever migrate to these apps,” Edwards says.

And then there’s the troublesome issue of up-time; if the provider’s service is down or your internet connection isn’t working, imagine the frustration of staring at a blank screen, unable to do new work or access existing files.

“I think business productivity is still a laggard [when using on-demand applications] and will continue to be,” Edwards says, “not because the functionality or interest isn’t there. It’s just that Office is Office, and it’s the monopoly for a reason.”