IBM;s announcement of a brand new hosted entry-level communications offering has led to plenty of punditry about how it compares to Google Apps. But I;m not certain that;s IBM;s major competition here.Google Apps Premier, which costs $50 per person annually,
Office 2010, includes Web-based workplace programs (Google Docs), as well as Gmail for companies, Google Calendar, Google Web-sites and Postini hosted/archived email. IBM;s LotusLive iNotes consists of hosted e-mail, calendar and contact management services — but no hosted productivity apps — for $36 per person each year.I;ve seen almost no one analyzing IBM;s new hosted providing in comparison to what Microsoft is providing business users.Microsoft already has a business-focused hosted e-mail/collaboration product on the market known as the Deskless Worker Suite,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 Key, which includes Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. Customers can get that suite for $36 per user annually. Exchange Online Deskless Worker consists of e-mail,
Office Professional 2010 X86, calendaring,
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Key, global make contact with lists, anti-virus and anti-spam filters, and provides access to firm e-mail via Outlook Web Access Light. SharePoint Online Deskless Worker gives you read-only access to SharePoint portal and team websites. If users want only Exchange Online Deskless or SharePoint Online Deskless, it;s $24 per person per services each year.Microsoft offers a more comprehensive hosted communications/collaboration subscription company — one that consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Communications Online (corporate instant messaging and presence) and Live Meeting (Internet conferencing and videoconferencing) — for $180 per consumer annually. That is the provider;s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).I asked Microsoft for its take on IBM;s LotusLive iNotes announcement. I received back a statement from Clint Patterson, Director, Microsoft Unified Communications Group:“Our rivals are just awakening to the fact that - when it comes to communications - one size doesn;t fit all. This flexibility - to equip occasional users with a low-priced, integrated e mail support as part of Exchange Online - has really resonated with our customers,
Cheap Windows 7 Home Premium, and we;ve seen businesses like GlaxoSmithKline choose Exchange Online Deskless, which costs $2 per person per month and works with the applications they already use, for more than 10% of their employees. Companies don;t care for consumer offerings dressed up as enterprise ready solutions, and millions of vendors - and more every day - are choosing Exchange for the scalability and reliability it delivers, whether on-premises or online.”When Microsoft unveiled its Deskless Worker offerings back in the summer of 2008 that a number of pundits wondered aloud who the “deskless workers” were whom Microsoft was targeting with these products. As I recall, Microsoft;s unveiling and explanation of the Deskless Worker features and pricing was confusing to us in the press and many in Microsoft;s partner network alike. Now it seems as though industry watchers have forgotten that Microsoft has been selling these products for more than a year.