To win ground lost against hosted, ad-supported competitors in the enterprise market, Microsoft is giving companies access to its online Exchange email program and SharePoint collaboration software.

Access was previously limited to firms with over 5,000 employees.

The services were first offered last year. Since then, companies like Google and Zoho have lured small and mid-sized businesses with web-based productivity tools.

Google offers Google Apps for Business, which includes domain-based versions of Gmail as well as its Docs suite of online word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Zoho also provides collaborative online word processing and spreadsheets.

Microsoft will also provide free downloads of Search Server 2008, which enables companies to search for files on their networks. Again, Google offers a similar product.

In his critique of Microsoft's announcement, Michael Arrington pointed out that companies must still install PC-based software to access the online tools.

Microsoft's enterprise competitors provide their services online without downloads, an attractive, platform-agnostic option that enables users to access documents from different computers.

In February, Microsoft openly committed to be more open with both competitors and users. The statement wasn't just a reference to corporate transparency; it was also a promise to consider free, user-friendly software options, including third-party development. This is not a very encouraging step in that direction.