CatalystOffice: Small Business Software [Review]

A new service recently launched that promises to connect company employees and project members via a virtual office. The small business software -- is an offering of CatalystOffice.



The service assumes most are using Microsoft [MS] Office products for business and collaborative efforts-- and since Microsoft Office Suite is one of the most popular and robust productivity suites available, this is a good bet.

Right now the service allows company employees to share documents, emails, calendar schedules and provides an IM interface.

The benefits? Things like company emails [non-specific employee] i.e., accounting@yourcompany.com can be reviewed by more than one company official. Those with access to the email account can also see who responded for the company.

Your question-- so why can't you do this on the company's website? Yes, more than one person with access to an email account on a company server can see emails-- and if all outgoing mail is saved, those with access can see if a reply was sent-- but you may not know by whom. With CatalystOffice you will know which company employee sent the official company response.

To set up the emails you will have to contact your email hosting service [if you also have a site-- this would be your web hosting service] and have the company email accounts that you want to use with CatalystOffice, remapped. I have a web hosting service and I have had problems having domains and email accounts mapped correctly so this is easier said than done. It is not so much that it is hard to do-- it resets without warning [I may have extenuating circumstances].

I like the idea of this virtual office for autonomous elements of the new small business landscape. Many today are freelancers working from home. Established larger firms [now and in the past]-- install productivity tools on local area networks [LANs] and office employees who need access, have it. Now that the Internet has become the LAN for many small companies-- services like CatalystOffice are going to be important factors in company communications and project collaboration.

My imagination ran away with me when I thought of the futuristic possibilities of a service like CatalystOffice. I can envision one day seeing a custom MS Access application running in a "browser" like environment for employees of a company-- provided by a service like CatalystOffice.

For right now-- collaboration is through IMs, emails, scheduling, and shared files that are uploaded when updated by company personnel. Microsoft tools currently make saving files, i.e., .doc, .xls, etc. to the internet very easy. CatalystOffice provides a means to have company employees accessing the same official versions of company documents at the same time. If an official document is being edited-- others reviewing the document will be aware of that.

The Internet has been the catalyst for many to start their own businesses. Small businesses and home offices are more common today and many are looking for ways to deal effectively with associates without the overhead of physical offices or local area networks. I think services like CatalystOffice are going to be very important to the "new" small business landscape.

CatalystOffice offers a 30 day free trial. You can also learn more about their services through the Catalyst launch blog.

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