Hosting News
Microsoft to Offer Office Online to Fight Google Apps
April 27, 2008 |
|
Seeing the success of the Google Docs, Microsoft is looking to take a slice
of that pie and provide its own office online.
Microsoft plans to conduct a yearlong test of a change to a key part of its
license for Office 2007 that will, according to multiple sources, enable Web
hosting service providers to offer the Office suite via an emerging technology
called application streaming.
The sources said Microsoft will make the announcement early next week during its
Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas.
If successful, the company will likely overcome its long-held fears about
hurting its hugely profitable Office business and make the change permanent.
Microsoft "has been sensitive to whether it would cannibalize its own
application business," said Neil Gardner, a vice president of marketing at
application-streaming software vendor Endeavors Technologies. "They were also
sensitive to the piracy side of it, of losing control over distribution."
Such a change could mean that Microsoft, with the huge data centers it is
building, will start to stream Office directly to its customers, too.
It will be the second announcement by Microsoft this month that showcases its
determination to fight growing competition from Google Docs, Yahoo's Zimbra,
Zoho Office, ThinkFree and similar services.
Last week, Microsoft confirmed that it is beta-testing a low-end Office bundle,
code-named Albany, that it will offer on a subscription basis.
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.
News of the license change had already leaked out among members of Microsoft's
hosting partner community, which had been campaigning for it for the past
several years.
"What was frustrating for us was that Microsoft allowed Terminal Services for
Office but explicitly disallowed application streaming," said Gardner, whose
company is trumpeting the news on its Web site.
But others warned that Microsoft will have to price streaming Office low enough
to make it competitive with the paid Enterprise version of Google Apps, which
offers technical support for $50 per user per year, and competitive too with the
free offerings.
"Why would a [small business] go out and pay an arm and a leg when they can get
Google Docs or OpenOffice for free?" said Ty Schwab, CEO of Blackhawk Technology
Consulting LLC, a Eugene, Ore., reseller of application streaming software. The
price "has got to be close if Microsoft wants to make itself a force to be
reckoned with."
Office 2007 as a streamed application is more similar technically to Google Apps
than Albany, though all three share a subscription model.
While some of Albany's components, such as the Office Live Workspace file
storage service and the Windows Live OneCare security service, are delivered
through the Web, the core Office 2007 software will still be installed locally
on users' PCs.
By contrast, a streamed version of Office would be stored on a server at a
hosting provider or enterprise but delivered bit by bit to users on demand
through a local network or the Internet, just as streamed music and video are.
The software code will be stored on the local PC and persist even after a user
logs off.
That means that while opening Office for the first time may take 4 minutes or
more, subsequent start-ups should take only 10 to 20 seconds, Gardner said.
It also "preserves the value of desktop apps and the value of the fat desktop
PC, which is very important to Microsoft," said Paul DeGroot, an analyst at
independent firm Directions On Microsoft Inc.
Application streaming is similar to desktop virtualization, also known as
virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), except that i
|
ASP Hosting Companies
 | Being the choice of the best web hosting review sites 100mostdynamic.com stands to prove that our wow-fast 24/7 helpful customer support, the variety of features and the flexibility in custom hosting plans makes us one of the most reliable and user-friendly hosting solutions.
Features: ASP with great variety of components, ASP.NET, PHP, Perl, FrontPage, HELM control panel, Advanced Statistics, MS Access, MS SQL, MySQL, webmail, mailing lists, daily&weekly backups, and much more..
30-day money-back guarantee, standard plans start at $6.95. You can also design your own custom hosting plans. |  |  | Since 1996 ActiveHost has been dedicated to offering advanced ASP and ASP.NET hosting services. With a proven track record of surpassing client expectations time and time again, ActiveHost has grown to a world leader in advanced Microsoft based hosting. Because we are focused on the developer in leveraging state-of-the-art technology and superior customer service, we provide one of the best values available in the hosting industry. Being a Microsoft Certified Partner and a Microsoft Web Presence Provider we fully support all of Microsoft e-business technologies. We like what we do and it shows! Plans start at $14.95. | |  | 1000MB disk space. US$7.65 per month. ASP ASP.net PHP.
Exa-Bytes specialize in quality Web Hosting solutions at affordable prices, along with the best technical support and customer service in the industry, Exa-Bytes provides custom solutions for your personal and business Internet needs. | |  | Nevidia Hosting is now offering $3.50 Windows hosting that includes FREE setup. With a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee, 24/7 technical support, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee, it has never been easier to put your website online. :::Featuring :: ASP, PHP, ASP.NET, FrontPage, Webtrends Live! Statistics, webmail, control panel, MS Access, mailing lists, dedicated IP, daily backups, and much much more! | |  | Hostway Virtual Private Servers (VPS) - Dedicated server hosting at a fraction of the cost. For Developers, Resellers and Systems administrators, it delivers performance, security and flexibility. Ideal for processor intensive applications or hosting multiple domains. Root and managed options. Full administrator access through Plesk Control Panel. Linux, Suse or Fedora Platforms, open source tools and software, 10Gb Disk, 50Gb Traffic. From £49.95 a month. 300,000 satisfied customers worldwide, Hostway - hosting the way you want it.
Simple, reliable, cost-effective ASP hosting.
Hostway’s ASP driven solutions include support for ASP3 & ASP.NET v.1.1, with MSSQL, MS Access, Advanced Website Tools & Analytics (Urchin), STM1 connectivity, Daily Data Backup and 99.9% Network uptime. All this and the most functional control panel around. Shared solutions from £8.95/mth, see our website for dedicated pricing. The No.1 Global Hosting Provider. | |  | World class servers at world beating prices!
eSecureData.com, a leading data center in the industry, offers super-servers and generous amount of bandwidth in the industry US$149/month with no setup fee. Choose from Windows OR Linux OS.
| |  | GalaxyVisions
• Tier1 Bandwith Providers
• Fedora, CentOS, Windows OS
• CPANEL/WHM, Plesk Control Panels
• Personalized MRTG Graphs and RPC Reboot
• Managed Server
• 24x7 Phone Support Monitoring
Visit www.GalaxyVisions.comFor more Specials
| |  | EnergizedHosting offers reliable Dedicated hosting!
No Set UP Fees or Hidden Charges
Our Dedicated Servers Are the Best In the Industry
Affordable Prices – Starting only $99 a month
Top notch support with all plans
Limited Time receive 1st month half off! | |  | SERVER4YOU is one of the world's largest dedicated server hosting providers.
We offer reliable superiour serviced dedicated servers for best prices.
Free Setup! 24/7 Live Support!99.99% Network Uptime! Dedicated Gameservers!
Dedicated Linux or Windows Servers, Plesk 8, Ensim, cPanel, Fedora, CentOS , Debian, and many more...
SERVER4YOU provides affordable high quality low cost dedicated servers with the latest Linux and Windows versions.
Our cheap yet powerful dedicated hosting services make SERVER4YOU the best dedicated provided for all your needs. | |  | 3 MO. FREE/NO SETUP FEES – ASP/.NET Hosting w/ ASP.NET 3.5!
Award Winning ASP/.NET Hosting now offering ASP.NET 3.5. Classic ASP & ASP.NET (all versions) w/ real time ASP.NET Version Chooser. ASP.NET AJAX, LINQ, & Silverlight Ready. Scheduled Tasks, MS SQL 2005 w/ Real Time Back up Tool, FREE MS SQL Management Tool Suite & More!! | |  | 3SHost.com
3SHost provides Unmetered Bandwidth ,Lowest prices, CentOS & Windows
2003,CGI,PHP,PERL,SSI,MYSQL, SQL 2005,ASP,.NET
2 ,DotNetNuke4,Frontpage 2003 ,CPANEL10(Linux)& Inspanel(Windows),24/7
Technical Support, No setup fee. | |  | Switch to SingleHop's Windows Dedicated Servers and get $200 Cash
Back!
SingleHop Dedicated Servers - Get $100 For Signing Up, $200 for
Switching From ANY Competitor | |
|
Feature Host
SingleHop
We Manage IT Differently
|
