6 ms·

Microsoft probably has a good chance of winning this war, when you look at the amount of people who are completely unwilling to stop using Office in favor of do

Microsoft probably has a good chance of winning this war, when you look at the amount of people who are completely unwilling to stop using Office in favor of docs for whatever reason. I know so many people like that. Me, I stopped using Office over a year ago now. Pure google docs and that's it. I miss nothing.

ascendant 15y ago
You (and Microsoft) do have a point. Moving from Office to Google Docs really isn't that big of a deal for people that read Hacker News. The bulk of the workforces that use Office are not like that: they're button pushers. As a developer I have seen people completely thrown into chaos just because I moved some interface elements around on a webpage because I felt it was more intuitive. Microsoft has had a few years to get everyone used to their new ribbon layout. Now all they need to do is properly transition that to their online offering and keep pricing in line with Google and I don't particularly like Google's chances in the enterprise market on the office software front.
BarkMore 15y ago
Google Apps is a disruptive technology in the sense described in the book "The Innovator's Dilemma." Microsoft might not effectively complete with the disruption because Microsoft does not recognize the disruption, Microsoft continues to focus on maximizing profits in their current ecosystem or other reasons discussed in the book. Google Apps is capturing early adopters like you and it continues to improve. Microsoft might not win.
- smokinn 15y ago
  Microsoft does not recognize the disruption? You obviously haven't heard of Office 365: http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/office365/small-business/about.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/office365/small-business/abou... I don't work for Microsoft but they have a lot of open positions for the Office 365 team which typically means they're investing heavily into it. They most definitely recognize that they need to catch up. And very likely will.
  - BarkMore 15y ago
    I am aware of Office 365. Microsoft also invested heavily in the earlier NetDocs project, but that project was canceled. I am sure that there are many people at Microsoft are aware of the disruption, but it's not clear to me that Microsoft as an organization has internalized it and is acting on it. For example, what is the product that Microsoft is selling? Are they selling a service to users or eye balls to advertisers?
  - pasbesoin 15y ago
    For those in the know, MS has already established its online "track record". It has launched numerous "ground breaking" products, with strong initial promotion (well, marketing, at least), only to kill them off 1 - 3 years later when they weren't happy with adoption. Not that Google and others haven't also done this, upon occasion. But, by contrast, MS has almost no track record of success (Hotmail, they bought -- and still almost/partially fucked up.) At this point, I simply will not trust anything "online" from MS. Likewise, anything they "share". When you get into trying to actually use it, inevitably you're sucked into a commercial relationship before it becomes useful. Or, you were. I guess some people are using the recent Express editions of their developer tools with some success. I'd already given up. I don't mind their making a buck. I do mind what I perceive as their disingenuity.

ascendant 15y ago

You (and Microsoft) do have a point. Moving from Office to Google Docs really isn't that big of a deal for people that read Hacker News. The bulk of the workforces that use Office are not like that: they're button pushers. As a developer I have seen people completely thrown into chaos just because I moved some interface elements around on a webpage because I felt it was more intuitive. Microsoft has had a few years to get everyone used to their new ribbon layout. Now all they need to do is properly transition that to their online offering and keep pricing in line with Google and I don't particularly like Google's chances in the enterprise market on the office software front.

BarkMore 15y ago

Google Apps is a disruptive technology in the sense described in the book "The Innovator's Dilemma." Microsoft might not effectively complete with the disruption because Microsoft does not recognize the disruption, Microsoft continues to focus on maximizing profits in their current ecosystem or other reasons discussed in the book. Google Apps is capturing early adopters like you and it continues to improve. Microsoft might not win.

smokinn 15y ago
Microsoft does not recognize the disruption? You obviously haven't heard of Office 365: http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/office365/small-business/about.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/office365/small-business/abou... I don't work for Microsoft but they have a lot of open positions for the Office 365 team which typically means they're investing heavily into it. They most definitely recognize that they need to catch up. And very likely will.
- BarkMore 15y ago
  I am aware of Office 365. Microsoft also invested heavily in the earlier NetDocs project, but that project was canceled. I am sure that there are many people at Microsoft are aware of the disruption, but it's not clear to me that Microsoft as an organization has internalized it and is acting on it. For example, what is the product that Microsoft is selling? Are they selling a service to users or eye balls to advertisers?
- pasbesoin 15y ago
  For those in the know, MS has already established its online "track record". It has launched numerous "ground breaking" products, with strong initial promotion (well, marketing, at least), only to kill them off 1 - 3 years later when they weren't happy with adoption. Not that Google and others haven't also done this, upon occasion. But, by contrast, MS has almost no track record of success (Hotmail, they bought -- and still almost/partially fucked up.) At this point, I simply will not trust anything "online" from MS. Likewise, anything they "share". When you get into trying to actually use it, inevitably you're sucked into a commercial relationship before it becomes useful. Or, you were. I guess some people are using the recent Express editions of their developer tools with some success. I'd already given up. I don't mind their making a buck. I do mind what I perceive as their disingenuity.