Indeed, applications suites, such as those from Microsoft, tend to be bloated, offering too many features and hogging too much of a PC's resources. Plus, there is the small matter of money. Microsoft office applications remain a constant, high-cost component in a world where other component costs are diving. So, this would offer software vendors the opportunity to put value back into already over-sized productivity packages. Portal gravitational pull Portals are strategically positioned to offer desktop-like functions, according to observers, since users already gravitate to these sites for most of their information needs on the Net.
Portals offer privacy, universal access, and a streamlined registration process.
Users are accessing calendars, address books, and email from portal Web sites like Netcenter and Yahoo already. For small companies that are not networked, the Internet becomes the network. Additionally, server-based applications are easier to use than typical desktop applications, according to Giga's Enderle. By shifting to the server side, you can increase the overall reliability of desktop systems. With this in mind, some portals are considering offering distributed applications that eventually may rival the basics of office suite and productivity software from companies like Microsoft .