Guy Vs. Guy: The Real Story About Web Apps

Welcome to Guy Vs. Guy! In this new feature, Rick and Dave square off on the business and technology issues of the day. First up: Web apps. Wave of the future, or certain disaster for unwitting enterprises?
Rick: This argument is over before it even begins. We're using a Web app (Google Docs) right now to create this post. It's a zillion times easier than sending a Word file back and forth. Where collaboration is concerned, it's Web apps, 1, local software, zero.

Dave: Wow, this is so your style. You decided to argue in favor of Web apps, and then you send this file to me in Google Docs. Slam dunk, sir, you win! Then again, if I had kicked off the discussion in favor of desktop apps and sent you the file in Word, I suppose I would have won just as handily. Sorry, Web apps are not the hole-in-one you think they are. It all comes down to security. Do you honestly trust some online service to keep your data safe and secure in the cloud? Do you trust the files will always be there exactly when you need them? I'll trust my local machine over the cloud any day.

Rick: Zzzzz. Oh, sorry, I got tired waiting for you to get to your point. Call me naive, but, yes, I trust Google. I also trust Thinkfree, Zoho, and other established enterprises. Are they hack-proof? Of course not. But your local machine is arguably even more vulnerable. It can get lost, stolen, hacked, or damaged. When documents live in the cloud, they're much safer from those kinds of perils. It's like having an automatic online backup.

Dave: But data security is only part of the problem. I'm also talking about the simple issue of availability. I recently lost Internet access for about 10 days. If all my documents were floating around in the cloud somewhere, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for me to get any work done. Since I work locally, though, I could continue to write. You, on the other hand, would not only have lost your usual research source (Wikipedia), but all of your documents would be inaccessible as well.

Rick: Obviously if you're talking about a mission-critical document, then it would be crazy to keep your only copy online. That's why Google Docs lets you download files, and why Google Gears syncs your online account with your machine -- so you have an offline version just in case the Web goes bye-bye. And how often does that actually happen, anyway? I mean, sure, in your neck of the woods Comcast goes out when there's a stiff breeze, but most of us enjoy uninterrupted access 24/7. So availability is very rarely an issue.

Dave: Look, I've got enough problems with computers without storing all my files in outer space somewhere. Speaking of which, what mythical company do you work for that lets you store corporate documents off in the Interclouds? While these online file systems might be great if you work from home, real business people have to store files in company-approved fileshares, where they can be managed, archived, shared, and controlled. Storing a file on Google's moonbase might be convenient if I want to share it, but it's 14 kinds of wrong if you work anywhere that isn't your basement.

Rick: Let me join in with the readers at this point and cry, "Well, duh!" Giant faceless corporations probably won't allow documents to exist outside the company ecosystem, but no doubt it depends on the company -- and the kinds of documents. Anyway, you're avoiding the issue, which is that Web apps are insanely practical and convenient. They give you anytime, anywhere access to your documents rather than restricting you to one machine. They make sharing and collaboration a snap. And don't forget that invaluable online backup. That must be why Microsoft plans to join the "cloud movement" for the next version of Office.

Dave: Tell me: What does it feel like to miss the point this much? Does it hurt? It's not just "giant faceless corporations" that care about where their documents are stored. And it doesn't matter how "insanely practical and convenient" Web apps might be, what good are they if they're missing 90 percent of the features you need in a real office suite, like revision marks, document formatting and layouts, style sheets, mail merge, pivot tables, and, oh, a zillion other things we use every day? I'll grant you this: Maybe when Microsoft does join the cloud movement, they'll address these shortcomings with a practical set of business-oriented features. Until then, online office apps are strictly minor league.

Rick: Hey, don't knock the minor leagues. Their ballgames are a blast. And they're the backbone of the business world. (Small and medium-size enterprises, not Minor League Baseball.) Are you really going to lay there and tell me you use style sheets and pivot tables every day? Come on -- countless studies have shown that most users tap only a fraction of the features available in apps like Word and Excel. Google Docs, Zoho, and the like offer all the features most users need for most projects.

Dave: So what did we learn today? Cloud computing deprives us of even rudimentary security, robs us of standardized document management and control, and lacks pretty much every imaginable word processing feature except bold and itallic. Oh, and that's right -- if your Starbucks Wi-Fi connection breaks, you can't even get to your files. Dude, sign me up.