I’m old enough to remember when Microsoft was not the only player in the word-processing / spreadsheet / presentation market. I’ll admit that there are alternatives out there like OpenOffice.org but when you look at shear numbers, it’s Microsoft. The old time competition from Lotus and Borland and Harvard, is just a footnote in techno-based history books.

However, with the advent of Software-as-a-Service (SaS or SaaS) new players have made real progress.

In yet another attempt to compete with Google Docs, Adobe has acquired online word processor Buzzword, after today’s Microsoft Office Live Workplace announcement. Now who’s going to snap up Zoho?
Source: Lifehacker

I don’t know if Adobe can make a go of it or if’s just an attempt to cover all their basis. Personally, If I were starting a business, I would be seriously looking at what Google Apps has to offer. They have “good enough” offerings in nearly all categories to be a one-stop-shopping solution. What I don’t know is how I would leverage Google’s offerings if I am an existing business – SMB, mid-size, or full on corporation.

The one drawback with a SaS solution remains “connectivity”. I feel cut-off when I don’t have Internet connectivity but there are enough cases where that is my operational mode. Further, there are lots of people who are not “always connected”. dial-up is still prevalent even in the USA.