Microsoft's Office for the Web Will be Ready No Time Soon

It looks like it may take longer than expected for anyone to start trying out the Web versions of Microsoft Office. Wait. Here’s another way to say it: It looks like Google (GOOG) and Zoho will have more time to convince Office users to switch to their online suites.

Microsoft had originally said it would launch a “technology preview” of Web-based Office apps before the end of this year, with a beta launch in 2009. Now, it appears that the preview of which the company spoke is defined as about 1,000 Microsoft employees. And that testing won’t be done until sometime in Q1 2009, according to a CNET report.

One of my long-running beefs with Microsoft is the snail’s pace at which it seems to operate sometimes. This is the Internet age. Things change quickly. I know quality products take time to perfect - after all, it took Microsoft something like 6 years to roll out Vista. But this practice of announcing a product and then saying it won’t be available until the next quarter or the next year is getting kind of old.

Apple (AAPL), by contrast, announces a product and then usually follows up with “It’s available today.” Same goes with Google, which usually soft launches something (albeit in beta, usually) and then hammers out a blog post to say it’s up and running. Nothing like instant gratification, right?

For the past couple of months, there’s been a laptop at my house that has no traces of Microsoft Office. It’s always Web connected, so we - me, the wife and kids - have been using Google Docs and Zoho. We’ve barely noticed the difference. We can import .doc files into Google Docs. Likewise, we can save Google documents and spreadsheets in a MS-compatible format and share with others over email. Sure, there’s a couple of features missing here or there - but the companies are known for random feature rollouts so I always kind of figure that some missing tool will appear eventually.

I’m actually anxious to try the Web version of Microsoft Office. But with no release date yet determined, I’ll keep clicking away on Zoho and Google and maybe, by the time Microsoft rolls out their online versions, I’ll still be interested.

Or maybe not.

Comments

[Murphy Mac:]

Yeah - often Apple does announce things and then they're ready today. But a lot of people wouldn't call it a benefit to consumers. It's hard to plan big ticket purchases without a road map.

There's more than just the buzz to benefit Apple: You unwittingly buy a product at the end of its lifecycle and can't resist the urge to upgrade it immediately. Apple gets two sales where there might have been one.

2008 Dec 07 11:54 AM

[steveballmer:]

It will be ready when I say so!

2008 Dec 07 01:04 PM

[fredr:]

First, you say it took 6 years to roll out vista. Vista was released 5 years to the day after Windows XP! Are you saying the rolling out of vista started before XP shipped?

Secondly, the comparision to Apple. Microsoff MUST announce products months ahead of time, so that corporation can prepare, get in the programs, plan their budgets, etc. They are not making consumer products. This is how the corporate want Microsoft to be: warn them far in advance of what they're going to do, too early if necessary. The government also wants to see the three year plans for Microsoft.

Also, we heard of OS X Leopard for two years before it was released, and it was delayed by the iPhone. Now we keep hearing about SnowLeopard, and it's nowhere to be found.

Thirdly, we're in December, with the Christmas vacation coming up, there are only a few more days in 2008. Many blog entries right now are trying to create news about false delays. There is no point in launching any beta for anything right now, there won't be anyone there to handle the incoming problems.

2008 Dec 07 01:16 PM

[fredr:]

First, you say it took 6 years to roll out vista. Vista was released 5 years to the day after Windows XP! Are you saying the rolling out of vista started before XP shipped? You shouldn't lie, even if it's meant as a joke. With XP SP2, they only worked 3 years on vista.

Secondly, about the comparison to Apple.

1) Microsoff MUST announce products months ahead of time, so that corporation can prepare, get in the programs, plan their budgets, etc. They are not making consumer products. This is how the corporate want Microsoft to be: warn them far in advance of what they're going to do, too early if necessary. The government also wants to see the three year plans for Microsoft.

Look how bad the MobileMe roll out was, when a company decides to launch complex services without preparing everyone and all the groups.

2) We heard of OS X Leopard for two years before it was released, and it was delayed by the iPhone. Now we keep hearing about SnowLeopard, and it's nowhere to be found.

Thirdly, we're in December, with the Christmas vacation coming up, there are only a few more days in 2008. Many blog entries right now are trying to create news around claims of delays. There is no point in launching any beta for anything right now, there won't be anyone there to handle the incoming problems, and few testers would be paying attention anyway.

2008 Dec 07 01:20 PM

[jamiemcdaniel:]

Remember, Apple had to delay Leopard. Google launched their Chrome browser but still do not have a version for Mac users.

I think professional-grade software engineering takes more time than the managers at these companies originally plan for. These aren't Atari 2600 games anymore with a few hundred lines of code.

In addition to Google Docs, your readers should try out Buzzword from Adobe. www.adobe.com/acom/buz.../

2008 Dec 07 01:25 PM

[LA Tech:]

GoogleApps will never be a serious threat to Microsft Office. Microsoft has sold hundreds of billions of $$ worth of desktop softwware since 1990. Google has yet to sell more than $60M/YR worth of Google Apps, including Postini revenue. In other words, GoogleApps is FREE and nobody is paying for GoogleApps.

2008 Dec 07 03:27 PM

[jack dee:]

perhaps OP thinks goog and apple deliver instantly because he has no idea what is going on?

2008 Dec 07 05:37 PM

[User 283977:]

Googles online suite is free.... Why would MS rush launching a product that has to compete with something that is free.... What effect will a MS online Office product have on future sales of the very profitability MS Office suite local copies?

Excel is probably the key here... if Google can't duplicate a good deal of the functionality in Excel, then that becomes a barrier to market entry. If I was MS, I would go slow and see how Google is doing copying Excel functionality... I would hedge my bet with a minimum level development team...

2008 Dec 07 07:00 PM

[brewer:]

"I know quality products take time to perfect - after all, it took Microsoft something like 6 years to roll out Vista."

Good one! Too funny! Vista a "quality product"? HA ha ha ha...

Yeah, right... you just left out the rimshot there.

2008 Dec 08 09:24 AM

[brewer:]

"Remember, Apple had to delay Leopard."

Uh, six months is hardly a delay by Microsoft standards. How many years and how many times was Longhorn, er Vista delayed? Also, all Mac users WANT Leopard, this is simply not the case for Vista--hardly anyone wants that. It's pretty embarassing for Microsoft that their new releases are years overdue and then no one wants to upgrade. Apply by contrast has a significantly new system about every year. Snow Leopard should be out in January.

"Google launched their Chrome browser but still do not have a version for Mac users."

Google Chrome, while relevant to Google Docs is hardly required and is not something Mac users are clamoring for. It's just a rehashed version of Apple's Safari (Web Kit).

2008 Dec 08 09:30 AM

[Josh Thompson:]

Zoho Google-like software has always existed along side Microsoft Office. It use to go by the name "public domain" software. Only the name has changed. There's also WordPad and NotePad.

2008 Dec 08 11:41 AM

[Infinite loop:]

Good.

This should help my short position in MSFT.

Thanks Balmer. You're the man.

2008 Dec 08 01:56 PM

[Infinite loop:]

Geekyguy doesn't understand Googles business model.

Advertising revenue son.

Would you like to compare shares prices over the past 10 years as well?

2008 Dec 08 02:01 PM

[mollytjm:]

ok..but here's the difference..Apple can make mistakes, but they actually fix them. And when they do, the product is a good product. Yes, Mobileme was a mess for a couple months. Apple underestimated (by a lot) the pent up demand for the iPhone and was overwhelmed. But they fixed it. Fast. Leopard is a super system. And the next systems will also be. We won't have to wait 5 years, either.

There's room for multiple players in this game... but consistantly saying you're coming out with a particular BIG product and then having to delay and delay, is a very poor business tactic. How do your business customers plan for THAT?

2008 Dec 08 06:03 PM