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September 4, 1999

ASPs warmly backed Sun's StarPortal launch this week but held back from committing to implement the online suite of productivity apps, which is due to enter beta testing later this year.

StarPortal will be an online implementation of MS Office rival StarOffice, which Sun is now offering for free download following its acquisition of developer Star Division Corporation.

StarPortal will also "probably" be free when it becomes available from providers next spring, said Sun CEO Scott McNealy at the launch on Tuesday (Aug 31st). The online version will offer word processing, presentation graphics, spreadsheet and other office software tools accessible from any Java-enabled browser. Sun is also promising support for handheld and mobile devices later on.

Previously sold at $169, the StarOffice suite is available in Linux, Windows, Solaris and OS/2 versions. The complete package is a 65MB download. Currently the most popular productivity suite among Linux users, it is said to be easy for MS Office users to learn, and includes import and export filters for MS Office and other popular file formats, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel. It is the product of StarOffice Softwareentwicklungs GmbH, the development subsidiary and central European sales arm of the Fremont CA-based company, which was founded in Germany.

Sun sees ISPs and telcos as the most promising prospects to offer the StarPortal package. "This will enable broadband service providers to offer complete service packages, including office productivity," said Ed Zander, Sun's president and COO.

As well as offering the complete suite, Sun will enable developers to embed individual StarPortal components into other online applications, and will make source code available under licence. The vendor said it is in discussions with Internet service providers, ASPs, network hosting services and enterprises to integrate StarPortal into their application services offerings to customers and employees.

Sun had lined up a roster of 27 providers, vendors and users to welcome the announcement. They included several ASPs who expressed eagerness to test the StarPortal suite, including Corio, Interpath, netASPx and Portera Systems. But only education sector provider The Learningstation.com was keen to take on the product straight away, aiming to pass on Sun's free-of-charge pricing to its school student users. "We have already begun negotiations with Sun to make Star Office the default office and productivity suite to our 5000+ desktop subscribers," said co-founder Jim Pennington.

Ironically, The Learningstation.com will be using Microsoft's Windows Terminal Server and Citrix ICA technology to deliver the software to users, at least until Sun is able to complete development work on the browser-accessed version. Other providers said they would be thoroughly testing the StarPortal software before deciding whether to include it in their portfolios.

Sun's announcement brought further confirmation from Microsoft of its plans to make Office applications available over the Web, as first revealed on ASPnews.com (see Feb 1st story, Microsoft to allow apps rental). Company president Steve Ballmer told reporters in a conference call on Thursday that Office apps will be made available online, but gave no new details. In contrast to Sun, Microsoft is thought to be aiming for a pricing structure that does not undermine price points of its existing packaged products.

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