WORD OVER THE WEB - REALLY?

Much ink has been spilled this week over the news that Google has purchased Writely a web-based word processor.

You can look at Writely.com though it's closed to new users at the moment.

All the talk is about Microsoft Office being replaced by a new generation of web based programs. The idea is that you don't install any program on your computer, instead you open your browser and connect to a web site that operates a page that looks and acts like a word processor or whatever other program. It's an extension of the idea that you're probably familiar with already - Hotmail, Gmail or even Microsoft's own Outlook Web Access can replace a standalone email program on your computer (Outlook, Outlook Express etc).

A web-based word-processor would let you save documents to a central server or back to your own computer. There should also be options to email documents directly from the service or share documents with others for team editing.

I know it's not a popular view with all the hype at the moment but we can't see Writely or any like it totally replacing Office. Certainly such a service has benefits in particular the team editing of documents and publishing direct to web sites but there are limitations and concerns too.

All this talk about web based services assumes that everyone has cheap, fast and extremely reliable Internet access. While that may be true for some people, it's not true for most of us. I'd hate to be reliant on a web based Word clone when my ISP has a breakdown (Murphy's Law says it will be at the time of maximum inconvenience).

When you're traveling Internet access can be expensive and difficult to arrange, even these days. While some people use Internet caf‚s anyone who works a lot on the road carries a laptop. The idea of only being able to work on documents while connected is ludicrous for anyone who is seriously working on the move. Most trains and planes have no Internet connections or are very expensive.

There's also the security and privacy aspect. Google is currently in court with the US government over access to individual records the company stores. Even though a company providing a service might have only the best of intentions, the fact remains that a court or overzealous agency could demand access to your documents stored on web servers. It's true that a court order could be made to access home or office computers - but they are different in practice. It's one thing to convince a judge to allow access to your house and confiscate your computer, quite another to ask a judge for electronic access to documents stored elsewhere, accessible without your knowledge or physical presence.

There's a viable alternative to web based word-processing that most people have and don't realize it. You can setup your home computer via a broadband connection so you can access it from almost any Internet terminal via Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) - a feature built into Windows XP. Using RDC you can access not just Word, but everything running on your own computer.

In short, while web based word-processing has a place, I can't see it replacing Office any time soon. Microsoft will have to move quickly to provide a comparable service for MS Office customers to the new Google/Writely offering - otherwise they risk 'leakage' as people try the alternative. Some people might decide not to bother upgrading Office and stick with their existing Office plus the web based word-processor.

An interesting possibility for companies would be to host their own web-based word processor services within the company. It's a potential alternative to current remote desktop / thin client services.

That's our thinking at this stage, though we may change our view when the web based services develop.