Microsoft’s Answer to Google’s Free Apps: Web Based Office

Microsoft and Google have been at loggerheads with one another ever since the latter’s foray into the market. Microsoft has been reigning supreme unaffected by its competitors until Google became a household name with its innovative and out of the box concepts. So when one came out with something new, the other was not far away to outdo it.

The competition between the two is quite fierce with Microsoft and Google not giving any room for either of them to have a monopoly in the market. The race is on and the stakes are high with both of these biggies rolling out one product after another to outclass the latest launch by its competitor. So Microsoft’s announcement to launch the “lightweight” version of its very popular Office software on the online platform came as no big surprise. It is a move devised by Microsoft to quash the growing popularity of Google Apps.

The online Office version is free and will include the same Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Anyone with a Live account will be able to access it and now users can format and attach their Word documents or Excel worksheets as and when they are formatting a mail to their boss. By doing so Microsoft intends to make the service more appealing and user friendly and was done to counter Google’s foray into the OS business with its Google Chrome OS.

Previously it was Microsoft’s introduction of Bing that made Google hasten the OS concept. Also to quash Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser Google launched its very own Google Chrome browser. The game has been on for a long time and what remains to be seen is who turns out to be the eventual winner.

No doubt Google Apps are getting more popular by the day but it will be so only until the online Office experience from Microsoft begins to gain ground in the market. The service is expected to be a big hit among users and it is time Google lashes out its next attack. Or maybe it is already midway through it.

The web versions of the Office applications are expected around early 2010. But it won’t be long until Google steals back the limelight.

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