Web service updates Office experience

Startup company InstaColl caused a stir last year when it launched Live Documents, a novel product that aims to capitalise on the dominance of Microsoft Office by providing online collaborative capabilities for end users still running earlier versions of the suite.

Although previous attempts to draw customers away from Microsoft Office have failed, InstaColl chief executive Sumanth Raghavendra said there remain huge opportunities in the office productivity software sector.

“Unlike almost every other market, the internet zeitgeist has bypassed the office productivity market, which has remained static as a desktop standalone application,” Raghavendra said. “There are opportunities to disrupt the market, both in terms of leveraging the capabilities of the internet to build a better mousetrap, and in taking advantage of Microsoft’s lack of initiative.”

Raghavendra takes a different approach from vendors who thought they could take on Microsoft and win in a head-to-head contest. He contends that Live Documents can co-exist with Microsoft by allowing users to remain with their existing version of Office, but add extra collaborative functionality.

“[Microsoft is trying to] position Microsoft Office as a platform for collaboration, but we can offer users a similar value proposition without requiring them to forklift their entire infrastructure to Office 2007,” he said.

Live Documents offers a hybrid approach, according to Raghavendra. “Microsoft is positioning its moves in the area as a ‘software plus services’ offering, where web services complement desktop applications,” he said. “We offer a ‘services plus software’ proposition where the primary use is for people to access our browser-based online Office suite but [they can] fall back on a software component in those instances when connectivity is not available. We are not attempting to be a Microsoft Office-killer.”

But what about Microsoft’s moves to defend its turf with Live Workspace, a cloud-based storage facility for Office users to access files when on the move? Raghavendra believes this is “a hedge” that Microsoft is using to defend against competitors, such as Google.

“The fact that editing of documents is not envisaged in Office Live Workspace makes it apparent that Microsoft does not want to make any move that could potentially cannibalise its existing desktop Office franchise,” he argued. “Even in the event of a real online threat, Microsoft will not be able to easily switch on browser-based editing within Office Live Workspace.”

Raghavendra believes that changes in the way productivity applications are consumed will come slowly. “It is possible that five years from now broadband connectivity will make it possible for firms to offer browser-based applications that end users will embrace. It is also possible that the inertia of working on desktop software will persist for decades. Our goal is to make it possible for users to work on the desktop or on the browser,” he explained.