September 22, 2009

Some big companies are starting to move their spreadsheets, word-processing and other productivity programs off of PCs and on to the Web.

About 20% of respondents to a study by researcher IDC say Google's (GOOG) Google Docs offering is widely used in their organization, up from 5.8% a little more than a year and a half ago.

This good news for Google has not gone unnoticed at Microsoft (MSFT). The software giant last week said Office Web Apps — lightweight versions of Office programs delivered through the browser — will enter a limited technical preview. Invited participants will test Word Web App, Excel Web App, PowerPoint Web App and OneNote Web App through Windows Live.

Google markets free and paid versions of Google Docs. IDC analyst Melissa Webster surveyed 262 respondents in diverse roles at a broad range of companies; 27% said they are either already widely using Google Docs or expect to be a year from now.

The suite is proving popular as a tool that enables several co-workers to edit content in real time.

"A healthy percentage of Google Docs adoption is coming from ad hoc use," Webster says. "It's the classic case of employees making use of free consumer (online) services to get their work done, without asking permission."

No one knows how fast the market for online productivity programs will grow. IBM sells Lotus Symphony and Lotus Live as an online suite; Zoho offers free Office-like tools popular with students.

Source:-http://www.usatoday.com