Get Full Office Online Before 2010
There is a lot of buzz about Microsoft’s release next year of Office 2010. In fact, I think I read at least ten new articles yesterday about the pending upgrade. Interestingly though, much of the hype is not about new features or capabilities in Office. The discussion is primarily about the upcoming ability to offer Office functionality online and provide a counter-punch to Google and Google Docs.
So what does this mean for eXpresso?
It’s all good. eXpresso will continue to complement the capabilities of Microsoft Office, and we are not threatened by the upcoming advancements in it. Like most people, we use Office every day and look forward to what the next release of Office has in store. And as far as bringing Office functionality to the Web, eXpresso will still provide its award-winning collaboration layer to Office documents for businesses who are serious about sharing Office documents in the cloud.
Sure, Microsoft Office 2010 will be moving some of its functionality online, but it’s important to note the advantages eXpresso will continue to have after Microsoft takes its first major step into Web-based collaboration.
eXpresso Advantages:
- Full file fidelity – Office 2010 (Online Version) is a Javascript application that is a lightweight version of the real thing, so not all elements will translate well to the Web (e.g. slide animations, macros, etc.).
- Asymmetric Collaboration – eXpresso’s patent pending method for sharing files and assigning data rights inside the file. (e.g. Can edit specific cells or cell ranges.)
- All you need is Office – It looks like business users will be forced to go through Sharepoint to gain cloud collaboration features. That means extra cost, time, and development to set it up properly. Whereas today, you can create, edit, or view Office documents online with eXpresso without requiring Sharepoint servers, IT involvement, or drawn out deployments.
- Identical GUI to the desktop – Only one interface to learn instead of two. eXpresso renders your Office files in Internet Explorer exactly as they would look via your desktop, and you edit the files with Excel, not some lightweight alternative. Plus, instead of editing files locally on your own machine, multiple people can edit the files online at the same time.
- No pressure to upgrade to 2010 license – eXpresso is compatible with Office 2003 and 2007. So if you are looking to edit your files online, you can do that today without upgrading your software tomorrow. (You’ve got to love that IT departments!)
Office 2010 will have welcomed additions for all Office users, and it will be fun to connect eXpresso users to these new features when they come out. Until then, enjoy full Excel functionality online today with Word and PowerPoint coming very soon. (Hint: we are rapidly testing our private alpha as we speak to prepare it for public beta. Stay tuned…)
Update July 20, 2009: Here are some additional resources/reviews:
- MS Office on the Web: What it Is and What it Isn’t by WebMonkey
- Hands On: Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview by PC Magazine
- Review: Office 2010 Technical Preview by ComputerWorld
- Office 2010: The Technologizer First Look by Technologizer
- Microsoft’s new Office 2010 brings Office back from the dead (tons of videos)
by Scobleizer - Interview with Chris Bryant, PM of Office 2010 Group
Hey how do I get this so called office.
You can start using full Excel online today by signing up for eXpresso. If you are interested in beta testing Word and PowerPoint, please send an email to:
beta[at]expressocorp.com.
I cannot release details, but we are close to beta testing Word and PowerPoint. Send us an email, and I will hook you up when it is available.
Sorry to bust your bubble but your points regarding Expresso advantages are inaccurate:
1) Office 2010 does offer full file fidelity in the browser – it uses both Javascript and Silverlight to achieve this. Yes, macros will probably not work but they don’t work in eXpressso either!
2)You don’t need Office – The point of the web versions of Office 2010 is that you don’t need the desktop versions for this to work – Sharepoint alone will do for enterprises (for consumers, even this is not required as Microsoft will host Sharepoint within the free Office Live offering). And I guess you forgot to mention that for eXpresso to work in the browser, users need the desktop version of Office installed on their systems…
3) Identical GUI – see 1 above…Microsoft’s main value proposition vis.a.vis the likes of Google Docs is that the web versions will have identical GUI and document fidelity relative to the desktop versions.
This is not to knock eXpresso…I wish you the best of luck but would advise you to analyze your product strategy more deeply prior to making half-baked statements like these…
Cheers,
Don
Don
I appreciate your comments and the opportunity to respond. I want to make sure people understand differences. Here are the facts…
To Your points:
1) Chris Bryant, product manager for Office 2010, consistently uses the term “high fidelity.” There is a difference between full fidelity and high fidelity. (Another PM for Microsoft used the term “great fidelity.”) Office Web will have high fidelity, and it will actually have the best available fidelity apart from working with the documents directly in Office (desktop app) or eXpresso. For example, when asked about animations in PowerPoint, Chris Bryant said, “Some of the transitions and animations don’t translate perfectly well to the Web.” I have not read or heard any references claiming Office Web uses Silverlight. eXpresso does handle macros, and we can demonstrate that for you and point out its inherent limitations if you would like help with that.
2) For business users, documents will be stored in Sharepoint. For consumers, documents will be stored in Office Live. eXpresso serves businesses, so I am concerned about their experience. Obviously if your documents are going to be stored in Sharepoint, you will need to be subscribing to Sharepoint services, either via enterprise or Microsoft Online Services. My point here is that we do not require business users to use Sharepoint. Yes, eXpresso requires a licensed copy of Office on your machine. I also forgot to mention you need a browser. Details about that are covered in our website, so I did not feel I needed to communicate that here.
3) By all accounts, Office Web will be a lightweight version of Office. Translation – it will not have all the features of the desktop version. The GUI therefore cannot be identical. The term I have heard Microsoft use is that it will be “consistent.” The desktop version will offer more because it is a different medium. For example, there is a “Continue in Excel” feature on the Web version of Excel that Chris Bryant said in his demo, “Maybe there’s something I can’t do in the browser. One click on the button and I can take this workbook into Excel.”
I encourage you to try eXpresso. You will see we deliver the desktop experience through the browser, and modify that experience just enough to make sense for real-time collaboration without affecting the fidelity of the files.
Now I hope you understand the accuracy of this post.
Yeah I really need a new version of Office Xp. Thanks for sharing such nice post.
[...] feet. That’s why I encourage you to try eXpresso. You’ll see we deliver the familiar desktop experience through the browser and modify that experience just enough to support real-time collaboration without affecting the [...]