14 DAY TRIAL // While Google Apps has some competition, none of it comes from Microsoft. And the Redmond Company cannot afford to stand by and simply watch as Google increases its dominance over the Internet. An example in this sense is the fact that Google has the dominant position on the market as far as web-based productivity tools go, since October 2006.
Google Docs and Spreadsheets are the number one productivity tools on the Internet. Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk are additions worth mentioning because together with Google Docs and Spreadsheets they allow users to work remotely. Another big plus in this regard is the fact that the Mountain View's offerings are free of charge and that the Premier edition of Google Apps is only $50 per year.
A viable Microsoft strategy designed to counteract Google Apps would be to move the Office system online. There has been a lot of speculation regarding this subject when Microsoft announced Office Live, but that proved to be a different thing altogether.
Now Microsoft Excel Services have taken the place of Office Live as a potential Google Apps competitor. Microsoft developer Tod Hilton, recently moved from the company's Global Foundation Services to the Excel Services team, commented on a Google Apps killer. "The product (Excel Services) has tons of potential and will probably be competing with the likes of Google Spreadsheets, DabbleDB, Zoho and JotSpot Tracker. It's a really exciting time to be working on this product" Hilton revealed on his blog, as quoted by TechCrunch.
Hilton then changed the blog post, taking out the fragment quoted above. "I removed some of my personal opinions from this post. I do not want to confuse anyone who might take them as prophecy," he explained.
But will Excel Services end up being a Google Apps competitor? Mary Jo Foley commented on this subject and stated that Excel Services are nothing new. Moreover, although the Excel Services enable users to access spreadsheets via the Internet, the files are housed on an Excel Server based on SharePoint. In this context, it is easy to see that Excel Services are not designed as an online version of the office suite.