Microsoft trials web-based Office-apps

Mon Apr 21 2008, 18:08 PM

Microsoft is trialling a subscription-based service that will let users in the US update their Office applications, including Word, Excel and Powerpoint, online. The software giant has not released pricing details or a launch date for the offer, which is code-named Albany and is still in private beta. Microsoft already offers subscription-based Office services in emerging markets.

The move is Microsoft's latest effort to branch into web-based applications, or Software-as-a-Service. Players such as Google and Salesforce are increasingly putting pressure on Microsoft's licensed software business model by offering online consumer and business applications, at low cost or for free. Last week, Salesforce said it would integrate Google Apps into its on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), allowing CRM and desktop applications to work together.

Microsoft also plans to launch Live CRM, its first fully-hosted business app, later this year. The software will be a far more comprehensive version of Office Live and will work within a web browser as well as Outlook.

"Consumers...expressed frustration at having to spend time and effort installing different types of software, keeping current on new versions and getting their computers set up," Bryson Gordon, group product manager for Microsoft Albany, says. "We found from our research that when you bring these categories together and keep them automatically updated, a subscription model makes a lot of sense."

In recent months, Microsoft has started trialling an online package for small businesses as well as a web version of Office, which lets users access and share documents online. This week it is also expected to unveil its 'Live Mesh' system, which is believed to let users access files and data across a network, from a number of devices.