All About Microsoft
Mary-Jo Foley
October 28th, 2008
Microsoft to ‘webify’ Office (sort of)
Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:09 am
Microsoft is finally doing what many have been clamoring for — making Web-based versions of its Office
apps available — but in a different way than expected.
As part of the Office 14 release wave, Microsoft is going to provide “Office Web applications,” which it is
describing as “lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. These versions will allow
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users to access their documents via a Web browser on the PC, phone or other devices.
Microsoft is slated to make the announcement about its Office Web applications plans at the Professional
Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles on October 28 during the morning keynote.
Office Web applications are not meant to be a replacement for the client version of Office.
Microsoft still will deliver a traditional Office 14 client release for PCs. Office Web applications are more
of an adjunct to Office 14 — more along the lines of Office Live Workspace.
While Office Live Workspace, which is still in beta, allows users to collaborate and annotate Office
documents, it’s not really meant for heavy editing of documents. Beyond that, I’m vague on how Office
Live Workspace and Office Web applications interact and/or compete. I also am somewhat fuzzy on
exactly how these Office Web Applications work under the covers.
Microsoft is saying it will deliver Office Web applications “through Office Live.” There will be both adfunded
and paid-subscription versions of these Web apps. For business users, Office Web applications will
be sold as a hosted subscription service and through volume-licensing agreements. For consumers, Office
Web Applications will be ad-funded and free.
There will be a private tech preview of Office Web applications starting later this year. Those interested in
participating will be able to sign up for the preview from the Office Live Workspace site.
Microsoft officials still won’t talk about when Office 14 is due to ship. Until recently, many expected it to
be released in the latter half of 2009. But I’ve been hearing recent scuttlebutt that 2010 might be a more
realistic target.
Filed under: Microsoft, Microsoft Office
