The company has laid out new plans for its online services that combine elements of client-based programs with software that runs large servers and new services delivered over the internet.
The new strategy represents a radical first step in overhauling the Microsoft business, and is seen as a direct response to the growing threat of Google’s Docs and Spreadsheets SaaS offerings.
The new Microsoft Office Live Workspace is a Web component of its Microsoft Office desktop productivity software suite that lets user store, share and comment on documents, but its stops short of letting users create new documents through the internet.
The Microsoft Office Live Workspace is not yet ‘live’, though from this week users are ale to sign up as beta users of the new service.
The site gives users 250Mb of storage space, and the site can be used to email friends or colleagues inviting them to read and comment on documents. But to make editing changes, the users must still have a registered and installed copy of the Office package.
Microsoft will deliver a variety of new solutions during the coming months under two key families of service offerings: “Live” and “Online.”
“Live” services from Microsoft are designed primarily for individuals, business end-users and virtual work groups. Live offerings span entertainment, communication and productivity. These services emphasise ease of use, simplicity of access and flexibility, and are ideally suited for situations where people either don’t have access to professional technical expertise or don’t require high levels of system management.
“Online” services are for organisations with more advanced IT needs where power and flexibility are critical.
Online services from Microsoft give businesses the ability to control access to data, manage users, apply business and compliance policy, and meet high availability standards while providing performance, scalability, enhanced security, management features and service-level capabilities to support mission-critical applications and systems.
Microsoft is providing business customers with the flexibility to choose between traditional on-premise implementations, services hosted by Microsoft partners and now Online services that reside in Microsoft’s data centres
“This new era of connected computing is about empowering people and businesses to balance the power of the Internet with the rich interactivity and high performance of client and server software,” said Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes.
“With today’s announcements, we are taking a significant step forward by combining our deep client and server software experience with our strong commitment to delivering flexible services offerings for our wide variety of customers and their unique needs.”
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