Don Philmlee

It seems whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Office the “Office Killers” come out of the dark. Some “Office Killers” in the past have included:

• The ill-fated WordPerfect for Java - ”Corel Office for Java Certified 100% for Java“
• StarOffice – “StarOffice 8: Office Killer?“ 
• JotSpot – “Is JotSpot a Microsoft Office Killer?“
• The big contender GoogleOffice - ”GoogleOffice: A Microsoft Office Killer?“
• and The Borg vs. Microsoft? (just kidding)

Today’s new “Office 2007 Killer may be a product called Glide Business.  

Glide Business is a web operating system and with a suite of office applications.  It also comes with a synchronization tool that lets keeps your documents updated and synchronized with web storage.  PC Magazine calls Glide Business a “capable new online word processor” and CIO Magazine’s Inside Tech columnist Laurianne McLaughlin calls it “an intriguing new alternative“.  

Ms. McLaughlin agrees: “People love to throw around the term Office-killer. But nobody’s going to actually kill Microsoft Office.” said  “It will be with enterprise IT for years to come.” 

The CEO of the company that makes Glide Business, Donald Leka, says: Microsoft’s not going anywhere, but you’re entering an era of new choices.

I don’t believe any one of these products can eliminate Microsoft Office. Right now Office is too useful and too comfortably ensconsed in the IT infrastructure.  However, eventually the potential cost savings of these new web-based alternatives may prove to be too attractive and will either drive Office to adapt or be surpassed.