The software is based on OpenOffice. Last week IBM formally joined OpenOffice.org. Will the combination of Google, Sun and IBM be enough to dislodge or at least cut into MS Office's dominance. Opinions are mixed:

I.B.M. executives compare this move with the push it gave Linux, the open-source operating system, into corporate data centers. In 2000, I.B.M. declared that it would forcefully back Linux with its engineers, its marketing and its dollars. The support from I.B.M. helped make Linux a mainstream technology in corporations, where it competes with Microsoft’s Windows server software.

but others point out:

Any inroads I.B.M. and its allies make against Microsoft, analysts say, will not come easily. “Three major players — I.B.M., Google and Sun — are now solidly behind a potential competing standard to Office,” said Rob Koplowitz, an analyst at Forrester Research. “But it’s a tough road. Office is very entrenched.”

The drivers may be cost and the capabilities of OpenDocument Format but it will be a long road. So long that online services like Google Apps and Yahoo/Zimbra may take down Goliath first.