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Most end users employ only a small fraction of the available features in an office suite. StarOffice offers more than enough features for most end users. However, some enterprises have developed custom solutions on top of Microsoft Office using technologies such as VBA and macros, in-house or with third-party tools. If your firm is in that category and you are contemplating migrating to StarOffice, then you'll have to investigate the cost of modifying these solutions as part of your total cost of ownership.

Impact of StarOffice 5.2

StarOffice does not have any unique features that users really want that are not already in Microsoft Office. As such, StarOffice is unlikely to make an impact based on product features alone. However, StarOffice could make an impact due to Sun's marketing strategy. Currently this strategy appeals to cost-conscious environments such as educational institutions and some small businesses. If Sun can persuade most new computer manufacturers to install StarOffice instead of Microsoft Works or some editions of Microsoft Office such as the small business edition, then StarOffice could have a significant impact. Such a strategy would be taking a page of Microsoft's playbook, the one that was used to popularize Windows in the initial stages. While StarOffice could have an impact on Microsoft Office, it is unlikely to have an impact on Windows itself. Few users make their OS choices just based on savings in an office suite.

For cost-conscious UNIX IT managers, StarOffice is definitely worth evaluating. StarOffice is an excellent choice for managers who administer heterogeneous environments, including Solaris, Windows and Linux, and who need office documents to be shared between the environments. UNIX IT managers should also include in their evaluation the StarPortal offering due shortly from Sun.StarPortal will support the Web-based computing model for StarOffice, which will free you from having to install StarOffice on individual machines, one at a time. Sun is about to launch phase 2 of the early access program for StarPortal, and you can enroll in this program at the Sun Web site (http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/index.html).

StarOffice is not suitable in environments where the cost of the office suite is not significant compared to the overall IT costs. It is also inappropriate when a number of other Windows or other production applications are already running, and interfacing with these applications is a requirement.

Managing StarOffice poses two challenges for IT managers. The first is the problem of managing a standalone application installed on individual computers. It takes time and resources to ensure that the application is operational and upgraded periodically. If this is a major problem, you ought to take a look at StarPortal. The second problem, which is unique to StarOffice, is retraining and weaning users away from other office suites already in use. A related problem occurs if you have a heterogeneous environment and you use multiple office suites. In this case, users have to go back and forth between suites whose user interfaces are not consistent.

Conclusion

StarOffice 5.2 could make some impact on Microsoft Office if Sun succeeds in its marketing strategy, but is unlikely to cause a large-scale conversion from Windows to UNIX. Still, UNIX IT managers should consider StarOffice and StarPortal for their office suites.

Raj Rajagopal is with The MITRE Corporation. Send your comments on this article to him at rajagop@mitre.org.