In one of my recent articles I wrote quite a bit on cloud computing and how applications are moving from desktop onto the Web. It has taken Microsoft a long time to bring its flagship Office suite to the Web and now it finally has with Office 2010. Finally, we will get to see someone compete with Google Apps !
The software suite comes packed with meaningful improvements such as new cut-and-paste features for Word and new ways to broadcast your PowerPoint presentations online. But the most striking addition to Office 2010 is the introduction of Office Web Apps. These are lightweight versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote that are all accessible via desktop, mobile devices, and Web browsers Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
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For key Office 2010 programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, now include Web applications. Office 2010 Web applications will be available to anyone with a free Windows Live account. Access will allow you to create, edit, and share existing documents with others. Almost identical to Google Apps.
Don’t expect identical features with the online version of Word. Microsoft says it’s doing its best to make it a close match to the software equivalent of Word, making sure the Web version retains the same look and feel as in the desktop. With Office Word App you can:
- Create, edit, and save Word documents
- Add tables, bullets, and styles to Word documents
- The browser-based version of Word has AutoCorrect and background spelling checker.
With the Office PowerPoint App you can create and edit presentations from the Web, that includes the ability to pick a theme and slide layout. Other online features include:
- Ability to add animations
- In-browser and full-screen Slide Show views.
- Autocorrect, spelling checker, and auto-numbering/bulleting and undo/redo.
- Ability to insert pictures, charts, and tables into existing PowerPoint presentations
As with other Office Web applications, Microsoft is trying to make the Web version of Excel look and feel like the software version of Excel, but with reduced functions. As you would expect, the Office Excel Web application allows you to create, edit and, save Microsoft Excel workbooks via Web browsers. Other functions:
- Multiuser co-authoring (more than one person can edit data at the same time)
- The ability to use the same Excel formulas on online and in the client version of the program.
Its great to see Microsoft putting their thinking hats on again and coming up with a cloud based product quickly. They are already quite behind Google in this space and it will take quite a bit of effort to beat them. However, Microsoft has the largest customer base compared to any other vendor giving them the added benefit of catching up pretty quickly. Google, watch out ! |
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