For over a decade, Microsoft Office has been the dominant player in the field of word processing: office workers and computer users have relied on it to write letters, create spreadsheets, and more.
However, recently a wave of new software has emerged online, offering supplementary tools and, in some cases, replacing the basic functionalities of traditional office work.
Software such as Numsum, Writely, and Zimbra is part of a new generation of applications that, while similar to Office, operate as online services rather than installed software on computers.
The Future
Some believe that this trend could weaken Microsoft Office’s dominance in the future. However, with annual revenues of $11 billion, Microsoft Office currently seems well-positioned to weather any challenges. PowerPoint, Excel, and Word are essential tools for most users, making them hard to abandon.
Nonetheless, as the internet continues to evolve, the nature of computer usage is also changing—something Microsoft has acknowledged by announcing plans to develop online services to complement their software offerings.
The new online software shares many common features. Firstly, they have a simplified interface and are easy to use.
This contrasts with a drawback of the Office suite: it has too many features, most of which users rarely utilize.
Online software also takes advantage of lower pricing to attract small businesses and individual users. Typically, their basic features are free, while advanced functionalities require payment. A significant characteristic of these online applications is their sharing capabilities.
Traditionally, the only way to share information with colleagues was to send attached files via email. However, documents saved on a server can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, as long as they have permission. At least for the foreseeable future, no software of this type seems capable of competing with Office.
In fact, most companies argue that their software can coexist alongside Office, providing an alternative way to work online.
