If you look at Apple Computer's iPod and look at digital video recorders, we are wrapping computers around hard disks now, and we want to carry more and more and more stuff around with us. No matter how pervasive networking becomes, there are security issues with respect to putting all your information on a server that can be attacked by a lot of people from the outside. There are big administrative burdens for corporations making all the information that is available inside the firewall available through the browser securely to subsets of people.
Isn't there the advantage of easier administration with centralised information and browser-based delivery?
Well, we believe that information technology organisations do need to manage things. But I think that is a separate question from whether they are managing something on a desktop or on a server. They need management capabilities, but it's just -- this is a bit weird -- software. You can build software that allows a central administrator to manage stuff on decentralised clients or on their servers.
With regard to doing things on a Web server versus doing things on a client, most really dynamic applications that involve teams of people use some mix of both centralised and decentralised systems. Most major organisations are not going to use Groove in a completely cutting-edge fashion, and most organisations realise that they cannot offer everything through a portal. They have to have some kind of mobility solution. Big vendors acknowledge that they need to embrace the rich client more in conjunction with Microsoft's SharePoint Portal. In IBM's case, they are asking, "how can we reinvigorate a rich client around our WebSphere Portal offering?" So, I just think it is ultimately a mix of finding the right mix for an enterprise of what you put in the centre versus what you arm people at the edge.
The other thing is that there are constraints on the richness of what you can do in a browser. In most major enterprises, people might use browser-based email occasionally through a browser when they are travelling, but browser-based email is usually more of a consumer and educational thing. Most people use Outlook or Outlook Express or some other client software -- there is a reason people like it.
With so much focus on return on investment and demonstrating hard benefits, is selling software that improves productivity tougher than in previous years?
We do not really sell general productivity. I do not think there is a market for that right now and, arguably, I do not even know that there ever was a real market for general productivity, even though the industry might have thought a bit that way. An individual buys something, because it helps her do something in the context of her job or what she is dealing with. If you're a sales rep, you'll try to find software that helps you sell better or make your quota more effectively. It is not general productivity, per se; it is very specifically applied productivity to a task.
