The need for collaboration isn't new, but software-as-a-service has at last made real collaboration possible within and between businesses with a level of cost and complexity that's accessible to smaller businesses
As software-as-a-service (SaaS) moves into the mainstream, businesses are embracing new applications and ways of doing business. But there's also an opportunity for SaaS vendors to add value to on-premise and desktop applications already widely in use. EXpresso is doing exactly that and providing Excel spreadsheet collaboration to the large, established Microsoft Office installed base. Excel is just a beachhead for eXpresso; the company plans to roll out similar collaboration tools for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, and JPG image files. Recently, eXpresso CEO George Langan discussed his views on how SaaS and cloud computing are changing business and collaboration.
bMighty: Why use eXpresso? Why not SharePoint or Google Docs?
George Langan: We do have some overlap with Google Docs -- it's a terrific product and we really owe Google a debt of gratitude for jump-starting mainstream adoption of the cloud computing concept. For larger organizations -- $100 million in revenue and up -- SharePoint is a viable solution, but I can't tell you how many midsize companies I've heard from that have thrown up their hands and walked away from SharePoint. There's nothing ad hoc about it, it's very hierarchical and rigid and requires IT support.
Our premise from day one has been that Microsoft Office won the war a long time ago; there are 400 million users, and that's just the ones that pay for it. We also believe that Microsoft hasn't been doing a very good job of providing them with SaaS solutions; they're caught in a dilemma with their desktop and client-server applications -- they have to cannibalize their own install base to move to SaaS. So we're capitalizing on the Microsoft install base by giving users the ability to use Office products on their desktop and move into a Web environment and collaborate. We add functionality that Excel doesn't offer: rights and privileges, a detailed audit path down to the cell level, and alert notification for reviewing and updating.
bMighty: Is there a role for middleware vendors and integrators such as BEA with SaaS and cloud computing?
Langan: I see a few BEA-type companies popping up, but the truth is there are very few tool vendors in this space. VCs hate tool companies; they see tools as a product suite, not as a company. At first, BEA was really lightweight, really fast, and really easy to use. Today, there's a need for integration between different cloud computing platforms and we're trying to meet that need with lightweight tools that are quick and easy to use by focusing on the documents and files rather than on the data integration.
bMighty: Is SaaS revolutionizing business or is it just the fad du jour?
Langan: I think it's a huge piece of how computing is going to be used in the business world. There are two interesting things that I see happening. First, there's lots of whiz-bang types of applications that get can get in the way of people seeing the value for the way they really work. Take video teleconferencing. At the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, I visited the WebEx Connect booth and watched the demo. They shared a short video of the show floor with someone else on the other side of the convention center. That's neat, but that's not the way people use this stuff. I know, because we use WebEx Connect at eXpresso -- I'm totally enamored of it. It's great software and I use it at least half a dozen times every day. Applications like that can change the way people work. We have offices in Utah, Menlo Park, New Hampshire, and Minneapolis. Using the WebEx connect platform, I know who's online, when they're online, when they're available, and we can share screens instantly. That's the way real people in real businesses use these things, not sending video to someone in another cube. That said, some of this technology is phenomenal, but that doesn't mean that business will adopt it.
Another thing is that people rap IT; they complain that IT won't adopt new apps and complain about what doesn't work. But in my experience, IT is pretty smart and they should take longer to adopt new technology because they need to know not only that a new technology is solid and adds value, but also work on the integration with existing infrastructures. SaaS makes that process easier -- eventually, IT is going to drive SaaS right through most organizations, but it might take five years.
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bMighty: There's been a need for collaboration -- with Excel and other applications -- since long before the advent of SaaS. How has SaaS changed application collaboration?
Langan: I'd argue that SaaS has, at last, made collaboration possible. EXpresso is living proof. We have people in the U.S., but we also have development operations in Vietnam and Romania. Before we started using WebEx Connect and eXpresso to collaborate, it was challenging and we wasted lots of time trying to collaborate, rather than actually collaborating. Our big "ah ha" moment was a conference call in July 2007 when we were all talking, e-mailing, sharing applications and documents without worrying about version control or wasting time cycling documents and reviewing them on the phone. Effective collaboration makes it easier to work and to be aware, constantly, of what others are doing and SaaS makes that accessible to businesses of all sizes.
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Benjamin Tomkins is editor of bMighty.com.
