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With today's dispersed workforce and the ever-changing computer industry, organizations are consistently in a state of flux trying to keep end users up to date. The cost associated with investing in and maintaining office applications is high.

To ease this burden, there is a new model of computing available today in its infancy: Webtops. These virtual desktops provide access to application suites via a Web browser. In the not-too-distant future, users won't be required to carry laptop computers to access, share, and manipulate information: They'll simply need Web appliances.

In Need of Office Tools

The most widely known Webtops today are those available from application service providers such as Visto and Magically, which provide free access to productivity tools, such as e-mail and address books, and to information via any Web browser, be it on a laptop or a handheld device. These models are good for individuals who need access to a stored document or organizational tools; however, they lack critical office tools such as word processing.

Vendors such as The Santa Cruz Operation SCO are expanding the reach of what is accessible via a Web browser, offering tools to Web-enable applications running on Windows, Unix, or mainframe systems. SCO's UnixWare 7.1, for example, comes with a Webtop feature for Web-enabling applications residing on a UnixWare server. Administrators control what applications users can access.

Competing With Microsoft

On the rise are Webtop models competing with Microsoft Office applications that free organizations and users from being tied to a Windows platform. Among them are FreeDesk.com and NuoMedia.com, both currently available, and Sun Microsystems' StarPortal, which is in beta and due at the end of 2000. (See "Sun Delays StarPortal Web Suite.")

All three offer a complete Web-based office suite. These Webtop solutions eliminate the need to install office productivity tools on individual workstations and free users from being bound to their desks. (See "NuoMedia Offers True Web-Based Apps.")

Sun's initiative can be installed or hosted, giving organizations more flexibility. New organizations can set up their office easily with these virtual desktops without having to spend or invest in desktop applications. Companies can access these applications at no cost; charges come into play when companies require more storage space and support.

Research company Gartner Group predicts Webtops will become mainstream by 2002, and users will be free from relying on laptops to access the applications and information they need.

The success of this type of computing also depends on the success of useful and critical applications available from ASPs. And as the growth in broadband connections improves, these applications will become more practical.

In the future, users won't need to carry around laptops. Their applications and files will be available via multiple Internet devices. But they shouldn't toss out those laptops yet: They'll still need applications access when they're not connected to the Internet.

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