Office Apps In The Cloud

In this month's bake-off, the CRN Test Center took a look at four online productivity suites that are vying for a bigger piece of the pie: Google Docs, AdventNet's Zoho, Microsoft's Office Live Workspace and Adobe's Acrobat.com.

Each application was examined and tested for the following criteria: interoperability with other office suite and file formats (like Microsoft Office 2007 or OpenOffice.org's formats), editing capabilities, user interface and pricing.

Online office applications have their pros and cons. One of the most obvious advantages is the potential cost savings in not having to deploy and maintain the software on a per-machine basis. Location-independent access is another; you have an Internet connection and your data. Additionally, the collaborative nature of these hosted applications lends to a more efficient way to share and work on projects with colleagues in veritable real-time rather than do the whole open-send-edit-resend-as-e-mail-attachment thing.

Some of the cons: lack of control in the cloud versus the control a VAR would have with the software residing on premise (particularly troubling with regard to security and compliance regulations); recurring monthly fees associated with the business-class online suites; and a reliance on Internet connectivity and bandwidth for performance to get work done. Another issue we ran into while testing these apps is that if your browser crashes, there is no 100 percent guarantee your work will be saved (even though one of the suites we tested did have an AutoSave feature).

It's important for solution providers to understand that even though several of these applications can be sold into businesses, product margins will be thin, if any at all. Where VARs can see the bigger opportunity is in the integration capability—making the pieces work with the whole solution. VARs also have a nice opportunity to offer and provide true, remote support. Before considering advising a customer on going down this road, the reseller should consider its own capacity for providing that support and how it fits in with the VAR's overall solutions approach. Here is how each application fared in the bake-off:

Zoho Office Suite

Developed by AdventNet Inc., Zoho can integrate with Google and Yahoo! accounts for authentication and synchronizing up contacts. The personal edition components include Writer for word processing, Sheet for spreadsheets, Show for presentations, as well as chat and wiki components.

Any user familiar with Microsoft Word's pre-ribbon interface should have little problem working with the toolbars and menus in Zoho Writer. The standard buttons and commands of Word are included in Writer. Other features include the ability to publish a document to make it instantly available online. You can also copy a system-created scriptlet that can be added to a Web site and blog to give visitors access to the document. Writer also supports digital signatures.

Zoho Writer cleanly imported a .doc Word document created in Office 2007. A .docx file, however, lost portions of its formatting upon import. The spell-check feature was robust, but those accustomed to the on-the-fly auto spell-check of Word should be made aware that spell-check has to be initiated manually. Writer can export to a number of file formats, including OpenOffice and PDF.

Zoho Sheet was able to open a highly formatted capital budget template created in Excel. Some of the formatting was a bit off—a few of the cell contents were misaligned, for example. As in Excel, Sheet supports chart and pivot table creation.

Sheet has a VBA editor, which refused to fully load at first, but it was nothing that a page refresh could not handle (we tested in Internet Explorer 7.) This was not too much of a problem, although it was a definite reminder that we were working in an online application. Sheet can export as Excel, OpenOffice, OpenDocument, Gnumeric, PDF and other file formats. There is currently no support for .xlsx format. Zoho Presentation also does not support .pptx. Presentation has a bit of a primitive quality to it: There was no ability to incorporate even basic slide-animated transitions and there was no ready way to preview a slide show. It is, however, a good basic presentation creator.

With Zoho Office, you can create your own public wiki, as well as a Notes component. One issue we had with the suite was there was no way to close a file without saving. There is a history function that allows a reversion back to the file before a change was applied. It even showed the differences between the most recent and older versions of the file.

There seemed to be no prebuilt templates with the programs. This is, however, the Personal edition. Zoho has other versions available for a fee. Zoho Business includes all of these applications, in addition to user, group and domain management capability. The Business version also includes Instant Messaging, Contact Manager, Tasks, and Calendar Manager and document storage. Zoho Business is free for the first 10 users, and $50 per user, per year after that. Zoho has other business online services: CRM, Projects and Zoho Creator (for Developers) are all per-month, fee-based services.

Zoho's scorecard: Interoperability with other platforms: 4 out of 5 stars; support for other file formats is good, but there is still no support for Excel and PowerPoint 2007 files. In addition, although .docx is supported, a .docx file did not import as cleanly as the older .doc file. For editing capabilities, Zoho scored 4 out of 5: A point was lost for the VBA editor issue. For the user interface, reviewers gave Zoho 5 stars; the interface is modern, has the same tool bar and menu items as traditional productivity suites, and users familiar with the more traditional suites would have little problem transitioning to Zoho. Pricing also gets 5 stars; this is a pretty affordable solution and at the same time it is a full-blown office suite product. Total stars: 18 out of a possible 20.

Google Docs

Documents is the no-frills name of the word-processing suite in Google Docs. Again, the interface is comparable to Word, though more Spartan. Documents has handy offline capabilities, so data can be accessed without an Internet connection. Another nice feature is that in the event of an inadvertent log-off, a prompt appears if the document is not saved.

Files can be saved as Word, PDF, OpenOffice, HTML, RTF or text. Documents can be shared with others as collaborators or as read-only viewers. The file can be published as a Web page or sent as an attachment from Writer.

Tables are created easily, though with little variation in formatting options. There aren't many fonts from which to choose, either, but Document has the commonly used ones. Spell-check also does not happen automatically; the user has to click it.

Spreadsheet in Google Docs was impressive. The same complex capital budget spreadsheet opened with formatting more intact than was the case with Zoho. Opening up a new spreadsheet initiated the AutoSave feature. Objects like charts and comments can be added, but we did not find a way to create a pivot chart. Other interesting gadgets can be added, such as interactive tables, animated charts and maps. As with Zoho, there is no support yet for .xlsx files.

Presentation came with an assortment of background templates. There was also no way, though, to view a completed slide show. Again, as in Zoho, there is no support for .pptx. Slide animations, transitions and other audience-rousing affects are not available in Presentation. A .ppt file with a lot of embedded images and heavily formatted background opened up perfectly.

Google Docs give users the ability to make interactive forms complete with check boxes, multiple-choice select buttons and text fields. Google Docs is the productivity suite component of Google Apps Standard and Google Apps Premier. In the Standard version, Google Docs is available for free, as well as 7 GB of Gmail storage and 10 GB of shared storage. Premiere includes Google Docs and 25 GB of Gmail storage, 90-day e-mail archiving, 10 GB of shared storage, plus an additional 500 MB per user among other features, all for $50.00 per user, per year. The same version of Google Docs is in both the Standard and Premier versions.

Google Docs' scorecard: For interoperability, Google Apps gets 5 stars. The suite was able to handle a complex spreadsheet created in Excel and cleanly imported both a .docx file and a file created in Star Office. Editing capabilities score a 4 out of 5. We would like to see some additional features, such as the ability to create a pivot table. User interface scores a 5; although it is more akin to older versions of Office, there is nothing lacking in the menu commands and feature set. Pricing, on par with Zoho, also scores a 5, giving Google Docs 19 out of 20 stars.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace

Not a real full-blown productivity suite, Office Live Workspace is more aligned with Microsoft's inclination to fuse hosted services with an on-site infrastructure. Live Workspace is a way to share documents collaboratively online. The caveat is that the documents can be edited by locally installed Office programs. Live Workspace allows for up to 500 MB of storage and uploaded file size limitations are set at 25 MB. Workspace templates are provided; when "Meeting Workspace" is opened up, preloaded files such as Meeting Notes, Meeting Minutes and List of Attendees are included. Individual documents or workspaces can be shared with up to 100 people.

Editing and versioning capabilities aren't as hearty as in Zoho and Google Docs. Actually, there really is no online editing capability. The Shared View utility allows users to share applications and screens with other users, however only one user at a time can control a shared file or screen.

Also, there is no support for Access files—puzzling because Office Live Workspace is really intertwined with the champion of productivity suites, Microsoft Office. Why not give Access users the functionality? Microsoft incorporates virus protection security using Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint. Office Live Workspace can only be accessed using a Windows Live ID and password.

Microsoft's official business offering is Office Live Small Business, which allows small businesses to create Web sites, manage domain names, create company-branded e-mails; it also offers additional online tools for managing customers and projects. Like Live Workspace, though, an install of Microsoft Office is needed to edit documents.

Perhaps it is unfair to include Office Live Workspace in a productivity suite bake-off, yet this online application is being pitted in direct competition to other hosted solutions like Zoho and Google Docs. Problem is, it doesn't compete, on so many levels. Office Live Workspace is a nice collaboration solution for small workgroups that are already using the Microsoft Office application suite. To call it an online productivity suite is a misnomer.

Office Live Workspace's scorecard:

For interoperability, not surprising, since there's no support for ODF file format and support is pretty much limited to the Microsoft Office file types and PDF files, the score is 2 out of 5. Note to Microsoft: The digital world is becoming much more standardized and collaborative. For editing, well there simply is no online editing, however there is some pretty decent, though basic, versioning control—for that the score is 3 out of 5. Office Live Workspace scores a 5 for user interface, easily navigable menus and toolbars and being very user-friendly overall, one of Microsoft's greatest strengths. For pricing, well it's free (and usable as long as you have an installed copy of Office) so that gets a 5 out of 5. Total score: 15 stars out of 20.

Adobe Acrobat.com (Beta)

Adobe is getting into the hosted productivity game as well. Acrobat.com is currently in beta. It looks snazzy, sleek and the performance as you move through the online services and commands is fluid and smooth. However, to call Acrobat.com a full-blown productivity suite, much along the same vein as Microsoft's Office Live Workspace, is a bit misleading. Like Live Workspace, Acrobat.com is more collaborative software than an official hosted productivity suite. Acrobat.com's genesis is the result of the acquisition of Virtual Ubiquity by Adobe in December of 2007.

Developed on the Flash platform, Acrobat.com aims to make collaboration easy and attractive to users on the go, such as students and business travelers. Acrobat.com allows storage of up to 5 GB of files. There is a neat online organizer window, and files can be sorted by author or name, when uploaded or edited, and by file type. A host of file formats are supported for uploading, including image files, Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 files, RTF, OpenOffice formats, text, PDF and HTML files. Additionally, the Acrobat suite can support SWF and Captivate formats, as well as ZIP files and source files, such as .c/.h/.as/.cpp/.java.

Files can be previewed from within the application. Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, StarOffice and Corel WordPerfect files can be previewed in this manner, and it's easy to share files. From the Collaborator bar, simply click on the Share button and enter the e-mail addresses of the individuals with whom you want to communicate. Once you share a file with someone, you are listed as the author and the person you share with, as a reader. Authors can choose to stop sharing files at any time. Also, if you delete a file that you shared, it is removed from the Organizer pane of anyone to whom you've sent it. There are two access levels for shared files: Open and Restricted. Sections or parts of files cannot be given set access levels—it's an all-or-nothing kind of deal.

Sharing of files can also be achieved not just through an e-mail notification. With Acrobat.com, a user can embed a link on a Web page or blog to the file to be shared. Acrobat.com has an edge over Microsoft's Office Live Workspace; you can do actual online editing using Adobe Buzzword. It is a word processor, so other types of documents like spreadsheets can't be edited. It is a powerful—and precise—word processor. On-screen character spacing is done with micro-spacing. Even bulleting and numbering is easily managed; to skip automatic bullets and numbers in a list, it's as easy as the click of a button. Bullets and numbering are often frustrating to control and align properly, even in Microsoft's Word. Buzzword also handles table creation well. Tables can be edited and manipulated right in the table itself. In fact, many of the commands throughout Acrobat.com can be executed within the documents or objects; there is not much of a need to go to the toolbar. Buzzword also does on-the-fly spell-check, flagging misspelled words with a red underline. In our testing, spell-check caught all misspelled words and the suggested corrections were right on the mark. There did not seem to be, however, any grammar check.

Currently, there is no support for offline access to files. Acrobat.com offers a Flash-based version of the program through its Adobe AIR platform. AIR runs directly on the desktop, rather than in the browser, and offers the same functionality as browser-based Acrobat.com, with the added ability to drag-and-drop files between AIR and a computer's local file system. Adobe has on its road map plans to incorporate some kind of offline processing and access using the AIR utility. Acrobat.com also includes a Web-conferencing service called Adobe ConnectNow. It is on par with other Web-based conferencing services and has screen sharing, chat, notes, whiteboard, audio and, of course, video to conduct online meetings. Up to three participants are supported.

Acrobat.com is free for the first three users, and then is sold on a subscription basis. Pricing details are not known at this time. Acrobat.com's scorecard: For interoperability, Acrobat.com gets 5 stars; virtually any file can be uploaded and shared. For editing, Buzzword deserves a score of 5, but overall editing gets a 4 because it's only a word processor. Imagine if the capabilities of Buzzword could be extended to edit spreadsheets and presentations as well? The interface gets a solid 5. This product is beautifully engineered and performs flawlessly. Workflow is enhanced because many tasks can be performed without having to jump back and forth to the toolbar. Pricing, so far, gets 3 out of 5 stars. The first three users are free? Come on, Adobe, at the very least the competitors are giving the first 5 users as a freebie. Total score: 17 out of 20 stars.

Google Docs is clearly our pick for the leader in this bake-off. Google Docs and Google Apps set the bar for the competition. Google Docs is a true, hosted alternative to Microsoft's Office, although it still has some catch-up to do with Microsoft's most popular product. Zoho, as runner-up, is proving to be a contender in the online productivity space. This not-as-well-known office suite is nipping at the heels of Google Docs. It will be interesting to see how both companies will keep tweaking their online office apps in order to keep one step ahead of one another.

Adobe's Acrobat.com, our third pick, has made a strong showing in this space. Yet, it still is not a comprehensive online office suite like Google's or Zoho's. Adobe has plans to expand the feature set of Acrobat.com, a move in the right direction because it already has a strong start in this space with this product.

Bringing up the rear is Microsoft's Office Live Workspace. Criticized by some as nothing more than "a plug-in for Microsoft Office," it does have some merit. It is a good collaboration tool with an interface that is familiar and easy, even for the most novice users. Microsoft, in tethering Office Live Workspace to its in-the-box Office product, can be accused of being rather counterproductive in its quest to compete with Google. The fact that Microsoft has announced that it is considering advertising in Live Workspace may also not attract new fans to the product.

Choosing which online productivity suite to go with is fairly easy. It depends on user needs, the size of a business and which kind of files and programs are most commonly used. What's not so easy is determining if hosted office applications are appropriate for a particular business or customer. Careful consideration of business workflow, security policies and budget should all be taken into account when deciding whether to abandon the traditional locally installed office suite model for a hosted one. That said, the trend is apparent; users are growing more accustomed to anytime access to their data. Whether that trend is the best scenario for business users and mission-critical data, especially data with sensitive information, like patient health information, or credit-card and social security numbers, remains to be seen.