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The first of several on-demand applications available from JotSpot through Salesforce's AppExchange will transform Excel spreadsheets into browser-accessible versions.

Offering JotSpot Tracker through the AppExchange provided by Salesforce provides users with access to what is probably the most heavily used software application in business: the Excel spreadsheet.

Through use of JotSpot Tracker, information from a spreadsheet can be brought into a web-based spreadsheet, manipulated as needed, and exported back into Excel whenever it is needed. An announcement at the Appforce Conference for AppExchange users and members revealed details of the deal:

Typically, team members return to the old method of using and emailing Excel spreadsheets to keep track of project schedules, client contact lists, and key account resources. These files get updated by various team members and then re-emailed, creating the problems of multiple and out-of-date versions, the inability to access these files remotely, and the likelihood that files get locked away on individual's computers.
"We have seen growing adoption of JotSpot Tracker since its launch in January 2006," said Joe Kraus, co-founder and CEO, JotSpot. "This is the first of several on-demand services we plan to deliver for salesforce.com's AppExchange."

It is interesting to watch the transition of a workforce from the client/server mainframe-centric model of the 70s and 80s to the PC-based network through the 90s, and back to a centralized model in the 21st Century.

The technology offered by JotSpot and Salesforce do make a compelling argument in favor of the web-centric approach. If they can meet reliability and accessibility needs of their userbase, something that has been a problem for Salesforce in the past, they will be able to make a more effective pitch to businesses.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.