Apple has just posted a new job opening for an iWork Software QA Engineer that will work on the next generation of Desktop, Mobile and Web applications and services, which could possible expand the functionality of iWork to the web. This might mean Apple is working towards developing a new way of managing and editing iWork files that are stored in iCloud, more than the ‘view-only’ function that is available now.
As of now, the iWork functionality on iCloud is somewhat limited. It only lets you sync iWork documents and files to separate devices, which needs iWork installed on them to do any editing or to create new content. Like the job posting mentions, an iWork web application might be a way for a limited feature version of iWork to run in the iCloud web framework. This would give users the ability to edit documents right in iCloud.
This would not only benefit iWork and iCloud users, but also Apple itself. It would allow Apple to compete more with Microsoft, which offers cloud collaboration and editing with Office 365, and Google, which has offered Google Docs for a while and even expanded it with Google Drive.
But alas, this is all speculation. The job posting only mentions iWork web applications, which could just mean what iCloud currently offers with no editing functionality.
With iCloud not offering much more than Dropbox right now, it would make sense for Apple to want to expand its functionality, while keeping the iOS and OS X versions of iWork at the front of their office software strategy.
Image Credit: Apple Bitch