Funny how so many are focused elsewhere. A few weeks
ago there was a BNet article titled, "HTML 5: Google,
Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe Fight to Rule the Web"
(http://bit.ly/d5JRz3). Silverlight was mentioned, but
only as an alternative to Flash. Surprisingly,
Microsoft was painted as HTML5 friendly.
The more important point was overlooked; the
Silverlight plug-in was also designed as an interactive
and collaborative editing container for Office Open XML
(OOXML) documents.
This Silverlight/OOXML runtime is the driver behind
today's Facebook-Docs.com-MSOffice announcement. Of
course this is a problem for Google Docs and the entire
platform of Google Apps and services. But it's also a
challenge to the language of the Open Web.
As a document format, OOXML is custom designed to meet
the needs of MSOffice (2003, 2007, 2010) anchored
productivity environments. Microsoft is noticeably
championing one aspect of OOXML that stands as an
impossible barrier to all other productivity
applications and services; full lifecycle
compatibility . Meaning, these are in-
process documents, even when collaboratively edited
outside the MSOffice productivity environment.
The importance of lifecycle compatibility can't be
overstated. In-process and compound documents are
filled embedded complexities provisioned through
platform specific technologies. Think of the legacy
inter-app messaging, connectivity and exchange stuff
like DDE, OLE, ODBC, MAPI, COM, and DCOM. Then there
are embedded entanglements provisioned through scripts,
macros, app-on, security settings and application
specific settings.
Convert an MSOffice productivity/workgroup document,
and invariably you will break both the fidelity and the
embedded business-process provisions. While fidelity
can be fixed, breaking an embedded business process is
a game ender.
The iron grip Microsoft has on the enterprise is it's
lock on these in-process documents and the
desktop productivity environments they fuel.
With this docs.com release, Microsoft is signaling to
the world that they are ready to transition from
dominance of the desktop productivity environment to an
emerging, and Web centered, Business Productivity
Platform. The key to this great transition, which will
involve millions of legacy business systems, is the
easy and non disruptive full lifecycle
compatible transitioning of in-process
productivity documents.
This is a platform war. Microsoft may have lost (for
the moment) the smartphone "mobility" platform. I
think they also lost both the Web 1.0 and 2.0
generations of the Internet as the platform of
platforms. I don't think however that Microsoft will
lose the battle for the Web as a productivity platform.
They are in position to lock out Google, Apple and
Adobe.
It's interesting that they co-opted Facebook, which
itself is making a play at becoming a social network
platform. Whatever Facebook thought they could skim
off of business facing enterprises will remain under
Microsoft's control. Since Microsoft owns the runtime,
the format, the editor and collaboration cycles, and,
the in-process content; Facebook could easily be
reduced to status as a cheap and easy host of Microsoft
business and consumer information systems.
There is a reason why Google paid $25M for an MSOffice
plug-in (DocVerse). They need to get inside the
MSOffice desktop productivity environment before
Microsoft can hit critical mass with the great
transition.
I'm still betting on Google and an Open Web
Productivity Platform. But only because Google's
business model makes money off of pushing the Open Web.
Tons of money.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is unable to break away from their
traditional business model of selling applications and
services. To stay in business, they have to slow down
the Open Web - and with it the unstoppable forces of
open source and open opportunity.
Their situation reminds me of the famous comment made
by Netscape's CEO, James Love Barksdale, when
confronted with the problem that Microsoft was giving
away IE. "If Evian can bottle and sell water, I can
sell a browser".
Today the tables are turned. Sure, Microsoft's
docs.com looks like a Google Apps killer. But Apps is
not the Google ace. Google's holding an incredible ace
in the hole; the fact that their extremely profitable
business model is synergistic with the future of the
Open Web.
~ge~
Discussion on:
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