Office 2.0 Conference: the outcome

The Office 2.0 conference, while lively, invigorating and interesting, left visitors with more questions than answers.

The idea of Office 2.0 is simple enough: browser-delivered computer software. In practice, it is a can of worms. What, for example, if the user is offline? What data will be available and what programs will be there to work on it?

A hybrid approach would keep some application functionality at the desktop. But there's a decision to be made on the advantages of receiving software as a service. We're not talking about the death of Microsoft, sudden or otherwise. Far more likely that web-delivered applications are going to interoperate with Microsoft's programs.

The user interface will need to be similar to existing applications, otherwise users won't move, not unless they're forced to. It's unlikely at the present stage of play that C-level or IT professionals are going to head in that direction.

Some of the value of Office 2.0 derives from the fact that applications and data are hosted outside the organisation, thereby diminishing the IT workload. The hosting company can also watch what's going on (emails or files opened) and send alerts or reports, depending what they're looking for. They could even, suitably anonymised, provide aggregate information across their users.

The elephant in the room is the fact that Office 2.0 programs and their relatives are not very good at working together, certainly not to a common set of document or process standards and, of course, they look nothing like each other.

Vendors talk of "Work in Progress", "First Wave" and "Early Days" to suggest that things will improve real soon now.  Perhaps they're hoping they'll get bought and then merged into suites.  Although, through use of extreme programming, which rapidly improves software through user feedback, the services on offer are likely to mature rapidly.

At Office 2.0, enthusiasm was in abundance. Having seen several other IT revolutions in the past, I sense that this is another that cannot be ignored. But pick your way through the minefield carefully.

PS (2pm October 16) I see that the conference organiser has summarised what he learnt from the event. If you're interested in the subject, it (and its comments) are well worth a read.