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* An in the Cloud Smackdown...

# An in the Cloud Smackdown?

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By [Matt Keil](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/matt/?ts=markdown "Posts by Matt Keil")  
Nov 03, 2008  
2 minutes  
[Firewall](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/firewall/?ts=markdown)  
[application control](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/application-control/?ts=markdown)

ANALYSIS -- This Lifehacker article, like many others this past week, highlights the long talked about move by Microsoft to make Office available as an in-the-cloud/web service or whatever the latest definition of this category is....

Tools like Google Docs, Zoho and other web-based productivity suites are gaining in popularity for several reasons. They are not Microsoft products, they are easily accessible and they are typically free.

The question it poses however is this: will users of Google Docs, Zoho, and other suites move to Microsoft? Those users who chose their tools based on the anything but Microsoft will no doubt stick to their guns and continue on their chosen path. Those users who are on the fence, or are easily pressured by their IT staff will be "encouraged" to move. Why? Because if you work in IT, you won't get fired for buying/supporting Microsoft.

One thing is certain and that is this: the productivity tools as a web service market just received an endorsement second to none. The leading vendor has just moved their leading product into the space. Sure, there are going to be bumps like service outages, slow performance, a lack of features, but the Microsoft endorsement is huge for this market. Lost in all the hype and posturing is how Microsoft, notorious for its porous products, will ensure that network security is not compromised.

Click [here](http://lifehacker.com/5069999/first-look-microsoft-office-heads-online-with-next-release) to view the Lifehacker article.

*** ** * ** ***

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