Comments on: Does the Office War Start Now? http://www.markevanstech.com/2007/06/20/does-the-office-war-start-now/ A Canadian Take on the Web Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:11:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: alanh http://www.markevanstech.com/2007/06/20/does-the-office-war-start-now/#comment-5806 alanh Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:19:42 +0000 http://markevanstech.com/2007/06/20/does-the-office-war-start-now/#comment-5806 What's missing from all the online apps is a sense of working on a desktop. I think these guys may have the missing piece: https://desktoptwo.com/ What’s missing from all the online apps is a sense of working on a desktop. I think these guys may have the missing piece:

https://desktoptwo.com/

]]> By: Joseph Fiore http://www.markevanstech.com/2007/06/20/does-the-office-war-start-now/#comment-5804 Joseph Fiore Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:36:23 +0000 http://markevanstech.com/2007/06/20/does-the-office-war-start-now/#comment-5804 There will always be a cause to celebrate for a specific Web audience when online productivity tools come along that can compete with the MS Office suite. My feeling though is that such an audience will be restricted to the techs (made up primarily of MS haters) and includes a more visionary segment of the online crowd. These offerings won't be such a hit with the IT depts, or IT consultants (for small to mid-sized firms) that would inherit the annoyance and hassle that can come with the potential for breaches of confidential information and data to occur on a much wider scale using Web Apps and "free" productivity tools. Even when the usefulness of "free" productivity tools causes IT to seek thin client or online productivity solutions for their mobile workforce, the corporate culture will always look towards fulfilling that need with enterprise software installed on the client or company network, or on a Web application platform within the internal infrastructure, and where data collection isn’t a part of the providers service and revenue model. I think Adobe sees the potential to meet the needs and cultural sensitivities of corporate audiences with its <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/" rel="nofollow">Flex 2 Web application development platform</a> - for instance, here is a <a href="http://www.fauxto.com/" rel="nofollow">handy tool</a> I discovered that uses Flex and is essentially the online equivalent to Photoshop. There will always be a cause to celebrate for a specific Web audience when online productivity tools come along that can compete with the MS Office suite. My feeling though is that such an audience will be restricted to the techs (made up primarily of MS haters) and includes a more visionary segment of the online crowd. These offerings won’t be such a hit with the IT depts, or IT consultants (for small to mid-sized firms) that would inherit the annoyance and hassle that can come with the potential for breaches of confidential information and data to occur on a much wider scale using Web Apps and “free” productivity tools.

Even when the usefulness of “free” productivity tools causes IT to seek thin client or online productivity solutions for their mobile workforce, the corporate culture will always look towards fulfilling that need with enterprise software installed on the client or company network, or on a Web application platform within the internal infrastructure, and where data collection isn’t a part of the providers service and revenue model.

I think Adobe sees the potential to meet the needs and cultural sensitivities of corporate audiences with its Flex 2 Web application development platform - for instance, here is a handy tool I discovered that uses Flex and is essentially the online equivalent to Photoshop.

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