Cisco considering foray into office apps

 

Gallery

By Reuters

Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 17:52

Cisco is considering offering web-based alternatives to Microsoft's popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the internet.

Cisco senior vice president Doug Dennerline said his company may develop a service that would allow business users to create documents they could draft and share through its WebEx meeting and collaboration service.

Internet-based alternatives to Microsoft Office first cropped up about five years ago, but corporate users have yet to embrace them. If the approach does take off, it could become big business: Microsoft's Office division rang up sales of $60 billion in the software company's most recent fiscal year.

Google sells Google Apps, an internet-based alternative to Microsoft Office that includes a spreadsheet, word processor and presentation software.

Dennerline, who manages Cisco's online collaboration products, said he is interested in getting into the same area.

"That is an interesting space. We are certainly thinking about that," he said during an online news conference. He declined to elaborate.

WebEx services currently include online meetings, email and instant messaging.

He also said Cisco is not interested in competing with Salesforce in selling online applications that companies use to manage sales and marketing activities.

Analysts have long speculated that Cisco planned to launch into that business.