Zoho Launches Application Start Page
Online office tools provider Zoho today released a beta version of Zoho Start, a launch pad for Zoho's suite of office applications. Zoho currently offers a suite of 16 separate apps and utilities, and while they have a common login, there was nothing really tying them together as a single office suite. There was no easy way to access your spreadsheets and word processing documents from a single space, for example.
Zoho Start is what the company is calling a first step "towards integrating Zoho Apps under a single page." The page currently aggregates files from Zoho Writer, Sheet, and Show and lets users organize them into folders, as well as share, tag, import, and export documents via a common interface. Zoho Start also draws a list of contacts from Zoho Chat, and a features a launcher for their entire application suite.
Zoho Start is still quite rough around the edges. It so far only supports Zoho's core tools and isn't the prettiest application, but by tying together their apps under a common launch interface, Zoho is taking a step toward a fully web-based suite that has the cohesive feel of desktop systems. Perhaps Nick Carr won't have to wait until 2010.
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One goal for Zoho Start is to not get in the way, but speed users along to the relevant application. That is why the UI looks somewhat minimalist - it is by intent.
We will be adding better filtering/sorting options for documents in the next update.
Posted by: Sridhar Vembu | August 29, 2007 7:00 AM
It looks just like the Google Documents start page.
Posted by: Bryan | August 29, 2007 5:14 PM
G.ho.st (pronounced Ghost) provides a true web OS that already integrated Zoho apps. With a web OS that provides single sign-in, a unified file system that allows for dispersed files to look as if they are part of one file system and automatic launch of the appropriate web application/service depending on the file type, the "Start page" becomes less of an issue in terms of tying the apps together. However, with G.ho.st even the Start page can be integrated.
Tareq
Posted by: Tareq Maayah | September 2, 2007 9:09 AM