Microsoft has announced that its Office Live Workspace Beta has reached its one millionth user. The service, which serves as both an extension to Office and a direct competitor to Google Docs and startups like Zoho, was announced last winter and opened in public beta last March.
When we originally covered Live Workspace, we criticized its underwhelming web-based text editor. Rather than focusing its efforts on improving webtop document editing, which is offered by rival Google Docs, Microsoft is trying to bolster its Office desktop suite with Live Workspace. Users are encouraged to edit their documents through the nearly-ubiquitous Office products like Word, with Live Workspace syncing changes to an online archive and other contributors.
The site does offer an online editor, but Microsoft doesn’t go out of its way to point it out – during the intial announcement it wasn’t clear that one existed at all. The strategy makes sense for Microsoft: with an overwhelming monopoly on desktop publishing software and almost no presence with web-based collaborative solutions, it would rather present this as an bonus feature for Office rather than a direct competitor to Google Docs – the longer people think they need desktop software to edit their documents, the better.
1 millionth user is awesome. But, I think it should be pointed out how more impressive it is that Zoho has also hit its 1 miilionth user. AND Zoho has a FULL SUITE of SaaS products for a business.
Looks like msft’s growth is growing faster in the last few months. It’s was at 600k users just a few months ago..
Alex, from your broken english, it sounds like you work for Zoho, am I right? At least put ur web site url in there boss
Zoho isn’t less popular. It also has similar number of users and still growing high.
Microsoft actually has no answer.. but it has just normally reached a landmark which they are celebrating about.
How ironic that Microsoft Office live doesn’t work with Google Chrome, just IE and FF.
Now the tough decision, am I bothered enough to open up another browser……
Chrome came out yesterday! I have been on dozens of sites that don’t work with chrome. Facebook being one significant example (javascript errors).
Idiot.
Actually FireFox works just fine…stop using Firefox 1.5
Absolutely
Just wait for the Silverlight version of Word – then the text editor will have a slight advantage
BTW I wrote about Microsoft’s web based office strategy here http://chrissaa...sion-of-office/
Zoho and Google Docs are both great but you have to remember that the majority of users are still hooked on Microsoft Office and will most likely resist change unless Microsoft does something really stupid and this is definitely not the case here. Rather Microsoft has only strengthened its grip on the office software and service market.
Google launches Chrome.
Crowd goes wild.
MSN cries, “Hey, what about us.”
You’re not cool any more.
Go away.
Jason – Thanks for the info.
I disagree with your statement “the longer people think they need desktop software to edit their documents, the better.”
1. Changing people’s beliefs (or in this case stalling innovation) is risky. The strategy usually signals a large corporation’s attempt to protect a dieing business model (State Farm not developing an internet platform would be another example)
2. Demographic trends are against MSFT – The young teens crowd is reaching highschool and are a step away from college. Browser tools have always been ‘around’ in their memory.
3. Cannibalizing their desktop business model is an old excuse. They could ride this one into the fire.
Right, I agree with you. From Microsoft’s perspective the longer people think they need desktop software to edit their documents, the better.
Microsoft definitely takes the long view. Even their product names are long: “Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta”.
Google offers an extension in Open Office.
http://extensio.../project/ooo2gd
A: That’s not a Google product.
B: It’s a basic upload / download service — nothing like live syncing people would actually want.
If there were a *real* Google Docs integration plugin for OpenOffice I’d be all over it… but there isn’t, because the Google Docs API doesn’t expose the necessary functions.
I’ve looked.
We’ve all looked.
but the online word editors are not powerful enough for corporate work. Google Docs is comparatively very slow. If you have ever built quarterly cash flows or any complex sheet, you will appreciate the challenge of doing it purely online. The speed gained with keyboard shortcuts in Excel or OpenOffice Calc are something the online versions do not approach by a 1000 miles. I don’t think pure online is quite ready yet.
Maybe new generation of browsers or plugins like Gears are the answer, but we don’t have the answer yet and I think Google, Zoho, etc understand that well. Ask them what their own people use on a day to day basis and I’ll be surprised if its pure online office offerings.
i have heard google exclusively uses docs, gmail, calendar internally… there is no microsoft…
it was about online vs desktop not about google vs msft
Wanna go hunting in the Finance department?
yep :d
I am increasingly convinced that the days of MSFT being able to charge hundreds of pounds / dollars for Office are numbered. There are some GREAT start-ups and Google, of course, offering free or advertising-based alternatives.
Certainly, for many small businesses and consultants, Google docs etc are probably good enough for most day-to-day word processing, spread sheets etc. Especially, if you have a copy of something like Open Office on your hard drive (in case the cloud goes down.)
Jim
http://www.thetechnewsblog.com
omg Jim
have you ever, for one day or one hour in your geeky life, tried to sell anything to an enterprise? selling google docs to a consultant?
what is google’s privacy strategy? what is their commitment to pricing? what is their support policy? what is their policy about storing document for unlimited amount of time?
lots of questions and only one answer. if it looks too good too be true, it is. no business that respects themselves and wants to be competitive would ever create presentations with google docs or cash flow analysis with google spreadsheets.
expect for google of course, but hi, that’s becasue their cash-flow analysis usually ends up with zero revenue and zero profit for almost every product they ever shipped.
@TCCritic, Jim was talking about small businesses and consultants. That said, plenty of businesses — large and small — are also growing weary of outfitting every last employee with a bloated suite of software when the basics would do just fine. In fact, fewer features might even appeal to them as it might focus a few more employees on the content rather than the style of the presentation. I commented earlier about Microsoft taking the long view. I think Google will too. The small companies, consultants and schools using Google Docs now could turn into midsized enterprises, consulting firms and college grads using Google Docs.
So, let me see if I get this. All that Workspace allows you to do is upload your Office Docs to the internet where you and others can access them? Way to go Microsoft!!! You have created a seriously watered-down version of box.net or Scirbd.com! Woohooo.. you are truly an innovator!
*yawn*
M$ has lost it all, even our compassion.
To make a contrasting point – how many users does google docs have? I only know a few people that use google for anything but search.
wow. i like google docs than ms
Here’s the deal w/ Google Docs: It is a PR gimmick. They *know* it will never gain significant market share. That isn’t the point. The point is to have a bullet point, a talking point, a yet-to-be-exploited toe hold on MSFT’s franchise. They are FUDing the FUDDERS.
The earlier commenter raised all the right issues re: security, etc. But Google doesn’t care about those users. Google isn’t trying to re-tread a 1980s tire. Rather, it built the apps as a tool for commentary, PR, to bring attention to MSFT’s potential weaknesses in moving to the cloud. Could MSFT make a Silverlight version of Office? And it will. But GOOG is playing an offensive game and making MSFT look like it is consistently reacting to GOOG’s efforts. The brand assault and the shaking of market confidence is worth every developmet penny.
The sad thing is to be a GOOG developer. Knowing that your efforts are really being used as a talking point and that adoption is nearly irrelevant would be a tough position to be. Nobody cares if you really succeed or fail. Your work is a really a just 1 crow in MSFT’s massive agribusiness corn field. The argument is, “If there’s 1 crow now, there’s bound to be millions coming soon. MSFT can’t seem to shoe 1 away, how will it deal with onslaught just around the corner?”
That onslaught is never going to come. But it is important to plant that fear, uncertainty and doubt. It is very shrewd on GOOGs part. But don’t believe the hype. Google Docs is a travesty of a mockery of a sham.
‘Google Docs is a travesty of a mockery of a sham’
Strong words… can’t say I agree with you. I think your ‘crows in a field’ point is interesting, and would definitely agree that there’s an element of truth in that, but do you really think Google would intentionally develop a product that they don’t think anyone will use? Seems unlikely. Plus, it’s still fairly early days for Google Docs – I doubt version 1 of Word was much to shout about.
GOOG Docs = FAIL
Kudos.
Glad to see there are still people out there thinking rather than believing.
@Jason
>> The site does offer an online editor, but Microsoft doesn’t go out
>> of its way to point it out…
Sorry, but I am unable to find it. Can you please tell me where to find the online editor…
i meant.. there was a simple online editor in the past… but i cannot even find that one anymore…
GOOG Docs = FAIL . I completely agree with you.. Your comment is better than the actual post
But what about ZOHO and adobe buzzword? They arent playing no PR games? I am just waiting for adobe to come with their office suite with Adobe AIR ..Live sync is what AIR claims to do effortlessly. That is the only thing that can potentially replace a few number of MS Office installations
May be I should try to do that myself!! haa ha
I think I may represent a certain group of users, in that I use these services (not Windows’ but Zoho’s and Google’s), but I also use offline editors. They’re faster and more convenient still, to me, at least. If I had a different work/uni lifestyle, I’d perhaps feel differently, but this works for me currently.
We can’t forget that probably the majority of computer users would struggle, at present, to convert to one of these products. Online document editing is still really different from offline. I know some of my older family members would have a lot of difficulty with it.
there are many other companies which offer document/file collaboration which is not purely webtop. now that microsoft online workspace integrates directly with MS Office products, does it virtually obliterate these products?
it sucks of unfair use of monopoly of the office suite market for me. check out my blog on the subject – http://www.onli...eviews.com/blog
Separating the comments of the religious zealots (on both sides) and looking at the comments from people who just want to get stuff done more easily it appears the net comments are “I want the convenience and flexibility of cloud based services with the power and security of PC and server based tools and let me work whether I have a cloud conneciton or not.” In essence, give me the best of both worlds, give me software plus services, hmmm…..
@TCCritic,
Have I ever tried selling something in my life?
Here’s my website and your answer – http://www.jimconnolly.com
Jim Connolly
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