LibreOffice, an Open Source "office suite" which represents a free alternative to desktop-based Microsoft Office software, will soon be released in the cloud. The solution, which was originally an aspect of the OpenOffice.org project, offers features that include Writer Document (a word processing solution), Calc Spreadsheet (a spreadsheets solution), Impress Presentation (for slideshows and presentations), Draw Drawing (for diagrams and drawings) and Math formula (which allows users to compose mathematical formulae). The LibreOffice software was downloaded 25 million times in 2013.
By making LibreOffice cloud-based it becomes a viable alternative to solutions such as Outlook.com's stripped-down Microsoft Office functionality and Google's Google Docs collaboration and productivity suite. Apparently to be called "LibreOffice Online", the new cloud-based version of the solution will be available before the close of 2015. Whether it will be free or a paid service is still unclear. LibreOffice Online will be provided by U.K.-based Collabora - a key LibreOffice contributor. Documents created using the desktop-based LibreOffice software will be completely compatible with LibreOffice Online.
The possibility of LibreOffice Online heading towards a range of features similar to that of Outlook.com and Google Docs has been discussed, particularly their collaboration capability of both suites which allows a number of users to work on a single document at any given time. However, the initial cloud version will not contain all the features of the desktop version. There is further discussion that LibreOffice could overcome privacy issues by having a version that can be run in a private cloud.
Do you know of any other Open Source solutions that are heading to the cloud? Let us know the details. Add your comments below.
