Office Live Team

What has been called Office 14 is also being referred to as Office web. What’s the difference between Office 14 and Office web? Well, Office web is being compared to Google docs and Zoho docs as an online or Software as a Service version(SaaS).

It’s unclear to me if Microsoft intends to eliminate boxed copies of MS office but I can see how that would benefit them.  They wouldn’t have to chase down the pirates if everything moved toward a pay-as-you-go or software rental model.

Still, there is something to be said for paying once for something and then owning it. However, when you really thing about it this is not the case for anything anymore.The SaaS model is just like your house, car, boat, cable TV, Internet, and the list goes on. None of these items are actually ours as we are in perpetual repayment mode.

The Bad

I can’t say I am excited about another monthly fee. We already rent cable and internet but now it looks like we might be renting Microsoft applications as well. Where do my word docs get stored or do I pay for that too?

The Good

An upside is that Microsoft might actually focus on developing a better version of what’s already available vs. feeling pressured to pump out a new version to create revenue. That would be a really good thing I think. Once you start using Office web you won’t have to worry about finding the CD/DVD and the licenses.

Summary

This could be a win-win scenario for everyone. Microsoft gets predictable recurring revenue and users get a highly developed, always available, and reliable copy of MS Office.