Microsoft Office goes Online – A Move to beat Google Docs?

Any business needs word processing . From word-star to fox pro to lotus and then word. After microsoft office launched word, it almost crushed all competition for ages. After years google came up with google docs. An online version of word processing which in any man’s opinion is a nice alternative. Google docs can definitely do almost all common operation that a word processor can. I personally was impressed by how efficiently google docs works. Well did google doc take off well ? Companies were not happy in using a cloud based third party sever to hold their important information and google hasn’t done much in offering alternatives . Recently google bought docverse a company that specializes in document processing. This move may be to gain experience and infrastructure to monopolize the domain .

 

Free is not a part of Microsoft Office’s history. The Business Division, whose chief product is Office, brought in $19 billion in sales in fiscal 2009, more than a third of Microsoft’s $58 billion in sales for the year. It generated more than half of the company’s operating profit — $12 billion of the overall $20 billion. I mean WHOA!!!!!!!!

But Microsoft’s ability to sustain these numbers is being challenged by the new way people use technology.

To counter Google Docs, Office will also take the cloud way but with a little different prespective .Office Web Apps will offer more features and what the company claims is a better visual presentation than its competitor. But Office Web Apps will not have all the features of Office 2010, which is being priced from $119 to $499, depending on the version.

Observers say an Office that embraces the cloud is just the beginning for Microsoft. As Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has said, “we’re all in” when it comes to the cloud. Microsoft has built large data centers in Houston, Chicago, Ireland and other locations to launch cloud services.

I guess time has come where a different way of e-earning has to be figured out. One can’t just survive with ads for a long time . If a new way of earning through web appear . I’d expect more apps to come . Well,will microsoft office web app beat google docs. For once i think the microsoft has the experience and technology in this domain. Only time shall tell the success story .