Next version of Office heads to the browser

LOS ANGELES--After years of questioning the value of Net-based productivity applications, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it will offer new versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that can run from within a standard Web browser.

As first reported by CNET News last week, Microsoft will use its Professional Developer Conference here to show off browser-based versions of its Office programs.

In an interview, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said that the browser-based editing capabilities are being developed in conjunction with the next version of Office, known as Office 14. Microsoft won't say when that version will arrive, but Elop said that a technology preview of the browser-based products will come later this year and that a beta version will be released in 2009.

Microsoft will offer browser-based Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in two ways. For consumers, they will be offered via Microsoft's Office Live Web site, while businesses will be able to offer browser-based Office capabilities through Microsoft's SharePoint Server product.

The company has been pushed into this arena by Google, which has been offering its free Google Apps programs for some time. In competing with Google, Microsoft is touting the ability to use Microsoft's familiar user interface, as well as the fact that all of the document's characteristics are preserved.

"If you go into some competitive products right now and take a Word document in and then spit it out afterword, it's unrecognizable," Elop said. "You lose a lot of fidelity."

Elop said that not all of the editing capabilities of the desktop products are in the browser versions. "The editing we are characterizing as lightweight editing," he said.

Although Google Apps has seen most of its popularity among consumers, it has started to attract attention from corporate customers. Google Apps got a strong look from Procter & Gamble, which only decided to stick with Office after a strong push from Microsoft. Part of that pitch, Elop said, included Microsoft offering details on its plans for the Web-based versions of the Office programs.

"This was part of the conversation, absolutely," Elop said. "We have been sharing with customers under varying circumstances to a greater or lesser extent."

Although he didn't name names, Elop said Microsoft has found itself in a competitive situation with Google in other business accounts as well.

[JM_Brazil]

Here we go with the web-based applications from MS again. No offence MS, I?m a very happy Office 2k3 user, but what?s the point? Where are the benefits from a web-based Office architecture? Nowadays storage space is not an issue. As a consumer, I see no advantage of being able to pull up Excel ?on-demand? from the web. As a corporation, maybe incentives to reduce license fees could be attractive, or maybe in some thin-client scenarios, but still?.why? Updated content? Security is certainly not advantage. I can just see a corporate customer working on a confidential spreadsheet ? over the web. Yeah, that?s gonna sell.

The only advantage I see is for MS itself ? as in access control and anti-piracy. Come on MS, why such radical change on a product that?s pretty much as-good-as-it-can-get? If you want to focus on innovation, try to improve your apps that need improvement - such as unified communications.

[someguy999]

No denying that they should streamline some of their applications...

But why such a radical approach? It's not a radical change if many other people are doing it. Google and others started doing it from the web side and are successfully working their way back to the desktop top (now you can edit google documents in a disconnected fashion).

If MS doesn't do this literally NO ONE will buy there products in another 3 years. And anyone who does will still be attempting as well to use their old Analog TVs after the digital cut over here in the US...

[iertry]

Where are the benefits from a web-based Office architecture?

The benefit is that you can access your documents everywhere. For example I could create a document at home and then access it through the browser at school. This saves me carrying a flash drive.

[JoyceNgo-218335993631273378369]

I can't even CARRY a flash drive to school. Yes they think students will infect their computers with viruses.

[JoyceNgo-218335993631273378369]

Oh and no CDs, floppy drives, or email. Now, it works with a few email sites but it used to not work with gmail or yahoo, no AIM, nothing. So now a few works, so I'm wondering which one.

[giggles]

"The benefit is that you can access your documents everywhere. "

No, not yet anyway. Most planes don't have internet access, and I've seen lots of folks working on their Office documents on planes. If you only had a server-based application without access to that server, you're out of luck.

[Commander_Spock]

This is a really neat comment which in part states; "I can just see a corporate customer working on a confidential spreadsheet ? over the web. Yeah, that?s gonna sell..." But, the question is - If companies like British Airways and Air France wished to consider the economic viability of an investment project then how are they going to be able to arrive at a decision when the requisite functionalities are not yet developed and integrated into the Microsoft Spreadsheet.? What do you think are some of the reasons for the current world financial and economic crises - huh!

[gerrrg]

I prefer using Google Docs and Open Office. And with Google Docs, I can browse my lists on my G1. :)

[princessc98]

I have used eXpresso for their excel application and I must say that I absoultly love it. They have made collaboration simple and easy to do. If their Word and Powerpoint apps are anything like what they already have with excel, i suggest Microsoft better watch out. eXpresso is taking these Microsoft products to another level and making them better! Way to go eXpresso, cant wait to try the new products.

[elgarak]

"If you go into some competitive products right now and take a Word document in and then spit it out afterword, it's unrecognizable," Elop said. "You lose a lot of fidelity. "

Yeah, except this is not the fault of the competitive products. Microsoft successfully kept the format proprietary enough that no one else can properly decode it. It's a scandal that they could buy the ISO certificate for that.

[Red Matthews]

But will it run in Firefox on Linux?

[ghosford]

Absolutely! Surely you have heard that Microsoft is dedicated to open standards. That is why you can import a Word document into any competitive product, and it will print out just like would in Word. Oh, and I will be waiting to see the Great Pumpkin this Friday on Halloween!

[irperez]

This is great. This beats Google Docs. Google Docs looks aweful in comparison. It loses the formating.

[n0thng2bdone]

another anti-trust suit in the offing

[Commander_Spock]

Hmmmm.... How long before Commander_Spock and Crew have a sip of this "Fresh Brew" of LOTUS KONA!

[worldlee78]

Come on guys, there's a big GOOD reason why Microsoft should do this.

Unlike Google or Zoho, they already HAVE a desktop application for offline work. So here's the scenario as I see it:

Microsoft creates a slimmed down version of it's Office products for use online. You can create or modify your documents online when you're away from your home. Then when you get home, you can open that same document WITHOUT LOSING FORMATTING and use the more powerful desktop based product.

If Microsoft prices this correctly and provides this seamless integration, they'll be further ahead than Google could be in half the time (since they already have the userbase offline). I think the correct pricing would be 1 Web Account = 1 Office Purchase. So if you bought Word, Excel and Powerpoint, you create an account, put in your license key and those are the services you have access to.