Well, the time has come, IT departments. You are going to have to give up some control—in a controlled way perhaps, but you are going to have to do it. When Microsoft releases Office 2010, there is going to be a free (ad funded) web-based version (http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/Features/2008/oct08/10-28PDCOffice.mspx). Users will have the option of storing their files on web based disks for free (also ad funded), and allow others to collaborate on the content. Your users are going to be able to access, protect, and acquire the killer applications all on their own. And, the most convenient place to store the data will be on disks managed by Microsoft; no one will know the difference—the documents will all be in the accepted format. Storing the documents (dare I say data) there will allow access and collaboration on their smart phones, net books, home computers, and, yes, maybe even their work computers. Remote users may find this an easier than using, say, the VPN. It was easy to minimize the impact of Google’s or Yahoo’s web based products. They were targeted mostly at home users, and besides, their “Microsoft compatible” did not support macros or graphics very well. But now, the free storage and applications are from Microsoft. The time has come to figure this into your planning.
Well, IT departments, you’ve done it before. You’ve tried to control data on laptops, smart phones, thumb drives. You try to control the websites that can be accessed, content of email, etc. You have resisted SaaS applications because your data is stored off-site. So what is the proper balance? The cost, implementation and support advantages to web based application and data storage cannot be denied. You better start looking outside of your firewall. The moat is being breeched.
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