Redmond, Washington-based technology company Microsoft does not expect to loose a significant share of  its lead in the lucrative business software market to competing Web-based applications offered by Google, despite the Internet search leader's plan announced Wednesday to sell its Google Apps service through resellers for the first time, according to Microsoft group product manager for business applications Alex Payne. Security Concerns Prevent Some Firms From Move To Hosted Applications Mountain View, California-based Google said on Wednesday that it was offering a global incentive-based program that will allow resellers to offer the Internet giant's premium Google Apps Web-based application suite to business clients, a method Microsoft utilized in becoming the world's biggest software maker. Businesses have been more reluctant than individuals to store sensitive information using so-called online software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications such as Google Apps, often fearing that private company information will reside on computer servers operated by another firm, a concern Microsoft's Payne noted in a recent report as likely to prevent some business customers from moving to such cloud computing applications for "political or regulatory" reasons. In addition to security concerns, some businesses have been hesitant to move to cloud computing applications due to availability concerns inherent with a technology that can only function fully with a working Internet connection. When SaaS providers have experienced problems such as service outages, users have become frustrated over not being able to update information that could be changed using traditional desktop-based software such as Microsoft Office. Upcoming Office Release To Include Hosted Features Security issues in a Web-hosted application environment present an issue of trust, Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie said in a recent report. "Cloud computing is ultimately going to be 'Do you trust this provider to have more to
lose than I have to lose as a company if they mess me up?'," Ozzie told technology site CNET. Some observers see the increased ability to collaborate on projects as one of the primary advantages SaaS applications  such as Google Apps, which is comprised of word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and other business programs, which may be one reason Microsoft has said that it plans to offer some Web collaboration features in the next version of its Office suite of applications, and likely the next version of its operating system, Windows 7, as well. Web-based applications are important to the software giant, according to Microsoft United Kingdom's Windows client business lead John Curran. "The cloud is important -- it's about reaching out to the web and being always on, as well as compatibility," Curran said in a recent report. "Making those experiences richer is important," Curran added. While some at Microsoft may downplay the importance of the shift to Web-based applications, the trend toward cloud computing delivery has been predicted to be a lucrative one, and a move Microsoft is not likely to avoid entirely. Microsoft Doubts Google Apps Will Derail Office Software Dominance Online software revenue was expected to top $6.4 billion in 2008 and more than double by 2012 to $14.8 billion, according to an October 2008 study by analysts at Gartner Inc. The cloud computing delivery method has played a major role in propelling Google into its position as one of the world's largest Internet company's, and its chief executive officer Eric Schmidt sees the Internet connecting even more devices as an important factor in Google's continued growth. "Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime," Google's Schmidt said in 2008. "Eventually, all devices will be on the network," he added. For all their apparent strategic differences, Google and Microsoft may have more in common when it comes to Web-based applications than some would expect. Schmidt's counterpart at Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, also expressed the desire to see more devices connected through the Internet. "Why can't we easily access the documents we create at work on our home PCs?" Ballmer wrote in an October e-mail to a group of Microsoft customers. "Why isn't all of the information that customers share with us available instantly in a single application? Why can't we create calendars that automatically merge our schedules at work and home?" Ballmer asked. Related Links :
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