IBM tries to eclipse .Net with open source

The recent launch of IBM’s Office application suite is part of a broader challenge to Microsoft’s entire .Net development framework, say industry
experts

On Monday, IBM announced it was launching a Web-based software suite that would offer Microsoft Office-like applications. But unlike Microsoft’s
Office, IBM’s Lotus Workplace software is designed to be used over the Internet and is accessible from systems running Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix as
well as handheld devices.

Ian Wesley, IBM research director at Ovum, said that the new software is a way for IBM to offer its existing Lotus customers an upgrade path and is
not a direct attack on Microsoft’s Office suite.