Forget the desktop; the IT battle today is for the entire workplace. This presents some interesting opportunities for competitors able to deliver the kind of flexible productivity solutions businesses look for now. However, the fight is complicated by the explosive growth in the use of mobile computers, sophisticated smartphones, and other handheld devices that has transformed a workplace that once was largely confined to the four walls of an office into a more elusive space – one which can be virtually anywhere, from a meeting room down the hall or a home office to an airport, a customer site, or anywhere in between.

This report looks at how Google (See “Google – Google Apps,” September 17, 2010) and Microsoft (“Microsoft – Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS),” September 17, 2010) are crafting their respective go-to-market strategies to expand their reach in the still developing market, as well as the part alliance partners and other competitors may play in the future in further transforming the market.

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