HyperOffice Launches New Version of Cloud Collaboration Suite

Back in December 2009, I wrote about HyperOffice, which provides SaaS alternatives to Google and Microsoft’s collaboration, messaging, and productivity solutions. Well, six months later almost to the day, HyperOffice has announced that the new, streamlined, modern version of their suite is now available to all customers. Here’s the scoop.

As I mentioned way back when, the new features include an IM client, Outlook integration, e-mail setup and management, and wiki generation. All HyperOffice services new and old are delivered by way of a browser-based company-specific portal.

The real change, though, is in the overhauled GUI. The Ajax-powered interface is supposed to be faster, easier to use, more scalable, and more secure. I had the chance to take the new version of HyperOffice for a spin and came away intrigued – it feels almost like a desktop operating system in the browser window, and for the most part it had the responsiveness to match.

HyperOffice is an interesting offering, insofar as it goes to great lengths to try to be everything to everyone. Using non-BlackBerry mobile devices? No problem, they have HyperSynch to take care of push messaging over the air. Want to skip SharePoint? So do they; it’s why their solution provides a lot of the same functionality and enables cloud-based document collaboration.

The problem, if there is one, is that they just don’t have the same document creation and editing chops as fellow SaaS offerings like competitors Google and Zoho. But the sheer breadth and ambition they bring to the table when it comes to SaaS groupware makes HyperOffice a company worth watching.

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