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Not long ago I recall that the Holy Grail of business was something referred to as the Paperless Office. This was the notion that software and computers would allow businesses to operate without printing anything on paper. Funny thing is though it seems that while we are much more efficient and much more global, we still go through lots of paper.
The new Holy Grail, if you follow new things, is something I would like to officially term the Softwareless Office. At present, most any function that you might need a computer or working using that computer to accomplish, can be done with an application that is housed on the web and not resident as software. (Maybe this will lead to the officeless office next.)
Google (Google Apps) is driving this train pretty hard at the moment and Microsoft (Office Live) has taken note - mix in some pretty terrific upstarts like 37Signals and you’ve got a great environment for more development on this front.
Let’s get the list started - an entire list of web based only applications to run your business - please tell me about your favorites
- Calendar
Google Calendar
- Documents
- Google Docs
- Zoho Writer
- Spreadsheets
- Zoho Sheet
- Google Spreadsheets
- Database and Forms
- Zoho Creator
- WuFoo
- DabbleDB
- Design
- Formatpixel
- SiteKreator
- Homestead
- Project management
- Basecamp
- Collanos Workplace
- Presentations
- WebEx
- GoToMeeting
- Accounting & Billing
- QuickBooks Online
- FreshBooks
- Collaboration
- HyperOffice
- Zimbra
- Office Suites
- Zoho Virtual Office
- Google Apps
- Office Live
- NetSuite
- WebOffice
Share your favorites!
Comments
This entry was posted on Monday, February 26th, 2007 at Feb 26, 07 | 8:51 pm and is filed under Google. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
John, I couldn’t agree more. These “software-free” apps become all the more important as mobile lifestyles — and continuous data backup — become the norm.
I also recommend listing “remote access” apps for accessing office-based computers while on the road. These are also great for those who don’t want to lug a laptop around the planet:
GoToMyPC: http://www.gotomypc.com
WebEx PCNow: http://pcnow.webex.com/MyWebExWeb/MyWebexPortal.portal
Great post!
Tim Ferriss
John,
There’s some pretty good thought leadership here http://itredux.com/office-20/database/ and here http://itredux.com/blog/office-20/ from Ismael Ghalimi.
Enjoy!
I’ve gotta mention a couple other applications that I use all the time.
Phone- JaJah http://www.jajah.com/
Similar to Skype but much cheaper on the whole (if thats even possible)
Spreadsheets- Editgrid http://www.editgrid.com
EditGrid is a much more tenured web-based spreadsheet program than either Google Spreadsheets or Zoho.
CRM- Highrise (by 37signals)
It hasn’t been released yet but this is really exciting. check out the blog article: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/291-preview-3-highrise-welcome-and-workspace-tabs
Also, if you don’t mind installing a couple items you should check out SugarCRM. The ultimate open-source CRM application. Install it on your company intranet and love yourself for it. http://www.sugarCRM.com
Gotta love web 2.0.
Cool list! You might want to add <a href=”http://www.blinksale.com”>Blinksale</a> under Accounting & Billing. I’ve been using that for the past few months — it’s very simple and easy to use.
nice to see the list growing. You might like to add Front Office Box top the list. I’ve been studying online apps for CRM/Opportunity Management and by far the best I’ve come across is this one - looks really nice and does just what you want it to do, teh way you want it to.
John, you are obviously right about the failure of the paperless office and I suspect it will be much the same for the softwareless PC; I am sure we will all keep the basic office software somewhere at hand. My favorites are the Zoho suite at the moment, I just wish they would get them to work faster. The Zoho Notebook looks very interesting.
Checkout Steve Rubel’s post on using GMail as a personal database system -> http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/02/transform_gmail.html
Let’s hope that in this transition, Bill Gates is remembered 50 or 100 years from now not for the stranglehold Windows had on desktops around the world for decades, but for the philanthropic work his foundation did around the world.
Wouldn’t this be nice to have our grandchildren say “Bill Gates - you mean the guy who helped cure malaria or AIDS” rather than “Bill Gates, the guy who built DOS and Windows?”
May I suggest the following free or super cheap items, Presentations : http://www.yugma.com (formally LetsPowow), Stock Photo : http://www.sxc.hu | http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos | http://www.bigstockphoto.com | http://www.fotolia.com | http://www.stockvault.com | http://www.adigitaldreamer.com | http://www.istockphoto.com | http://yotophoto.com
, Icons & Clipart : http://www.maxpower.ca | http://openclipart.org | http://www.famfamfam.com,
Design : http://www.gimp.org,
File Hosting : http://www.imageshack.com | http://www.megaupload.com | http://www.rapidshare.com | http://sendspace.com | http://www.filepanda.com | http://upload2.net | http://www.xdrive.com | http://amd.streamload.com, etc…etc.
I don’t have any additional apps to add, but I would like to comment that my dad started a “software as a service” company over 30 years ago! I guess everything old is new again.
Hi,
I would definitevely add 30boxes as a calendar (with contact and todo’s) application. Even if I prefer Gcal.
37signals http://www.BackPackit.com could also be mentionned as a good “notepad” / organisation tool.
Another notepad, post-it,… application online is http://www.stikkit.com.
We make extensive use of wiki (knowledge management) and Central Desktop with integrated EditGrid spreadsheets (Development and Project management).
We also use Zimbra for email, etc. (full disclosure - we are a Zimbra hosting partner)
Thanks - MH
It is true that these are great for mobility but I think larger companies will always want to house it own programs. There is a clear convince factor but i believe that comes at a price. That is the price of security and more intimate control of your files.
For personal non confidential use I would work with the web software but for private reasons I will still keep my software.
Hey John,
Great list. A definite del.icio.us tag, for sure.
I have tried a number of these such as Zoho (very slow), BaseCamp (Excellent), Freshbooks (Soon to start talking to BaseCamp), and others not on your list such as Plaxo (Contact Management), BigContacts (Contact Manager), and Stikkits (Cool but needs to talk to Plaxo and Google Calendar).
QuickBooks Online Edition and Sage (Act Online) are very expensive, restrictive and slow (according to support posts and blog posts I have read.)
My biggest issue is that few, if any of these applications work together–never mind well together.
I am on a quest (http://www.jaygilmore.ca/blog/2007/02/01/fast-integrated-hosted-crm-where-is-it/) to have a set of online tools that work the way I would like as well as have intelligent integration. My personal wish is that Google Apps will become more than a Scotch Taped together set of domain oriented tools. Google’s own applications don’t work well together and work very differently than my normal Google Account.
I have posted my experiences about it here:
http://www.jaygilmore.ca/blog/2007/02/27/google-apps-what-you-should-consider-before-taking-the-plunge/
I’d be interested to hear what you have to say about it.
John, great list but I would like to add a tool called a JetNumber. I run a small business with clients around the World and I like to give the impression to our clients and providers that we are a large than we seem, this is where JetNumbers comes into play. JetNumbers.com provides you with a virtual phone number in many countries, so that your clients and providers call you at your world wide offices when in fact the calling really being rerouted to your normal office phone. It is also great for travelling, but that would be another topic.
Keep up the great writing!
You have to check out Eloqua (www.eloqua.com ) - the salesforce.com of the marketing automation and demand gen world.
John:
A program I really enjoy that I’ve been using for about three months now is http://www.AirSet.com. It is a Calendaring, To-Do Lists, Contact and Blog program. You can set up as many groups as you’d like, you can color-code the different groups, and set preferences on the views.
Excellent resources, John, thank you!
The Thinkfree Office Suite (word processor, spreadsheet, & presentation tool) is pretty good. There’s a corporate edition for local hosting. http://www.thinkfree.com/
If your “Presentation” category is for live access, you might want a “Slides” category for things like Thinkfree Show and Thumbstacks (http://www.thumbstacks.com/), or even Opera Show. Vyew would be an interesting addition to Presentation. http://vyew.com/
I was happy to see a small bit of Google integration recently. You can now open documents received in Gmail in Docs.
Have a look at http://www.applicationexchange.com
Awesome list! ThinkFree is, in my opinion, the most legitimate office 2.0 alternative to MS office. In fact, they just introduced the ability to directly post MS and ThinkFree docs, spreadsheets and presentations directly in blog posts and web sites. http://viewer.thinkfree.com.
For simple time tracking, check out Harvest (http://www.getharvest.com/). Also, Less Accounting (http://lessaccounting.com/) looks appealing
over 15,000 free icons,Hope they are useful to someone!
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We, Collanos, just came out with a new version this week, Collanos Workplace 1.1, with some major enhancements and features.
This includes a new Conflict Bin that allows you to restore overwritten file versions and our CUD, Central User Directory, which further enhances our goal of creating ONE global Collanos community where users can easily find each other and invite them to share workspaces/projects (even offline!).
Release Notes (highly recommended) are available on our user forum:
http://community.collanos.com/index.php/topic,811.0.html
Cheers,
Gil
Another bump for remote access software. One interesting product is I’m InTouch, http://www.imintouch.net , that allows you to not only remotely control your computer but also lets you check your outlook and transfer files from a mobile phone.