Though there were umpteen presentation topics like “Open for Business” and “Stay Organized,” today’s Under The Radar Office 2.0 confab really had one theme: helping companies use the Internet to better run their businesses.

Held at Microsoft’s Mountain View campus, I more than got my fill of software that helps non-techies create web sites, or that lets workers collaborate via the Internet. Lots of talk extolling “the cloud” was tempered, luckily, by skeptics wondering if all this would have any appeal beyond geekdom.

One panel judge, Ismael Ghalimi—who runs a business tools blog called IT Redux when not engaging in CEO duties at Intalio—thinks it will, thanks to tech-savvy workers in the trenches. “It’s users who like this technology who will generate bottom-up adoption of it,” he told me during lunch.

Joyent could be the first to spark this disruption, Mr. Ghalimi said. Joyent founder/CTO Jason Hoffman explained to me that Joyent’s collaboration software is different because it’s a lot simpler to implement—for example, the “sharing” function on email automatically gives your colleagues the same messages you get, unless you turn the function off.

But at least one company admitted it’s hard to “break through the noise” and nab potential customers who don’t care about the nuanced differences between various Office 2.0 software. Said SiteKreator founder/CEO Ivaylo Lenkov, “So far the best way [to promote itself] is through designers” who use SiteKreator to build sites for clients. He claims his company “makes creating a web site as easy as creating a Word document” thanks to premade site designs (don’t call them templates!).

Or, a startup can try being the customers’ friend. Online application creator Wufoo—based in Tampa, the “other Bay Area”—sends Christmas cards and other friendly items to clients, resulting in a big referral rate.

Of the other companies I caught (I hesitate to call these “highlights” as it was impossible to check out all 32 startups that presented in six net-hours), here’s what else impressed: Jive has the largest open-source real-time collaborator server in the world. Approver makes document-sharing software that’s so reliable and secure, attorneys at a law firm already use it. Slideaware helps customers better manage and repurpose business presentations. ThinkFree claims its online office suite is the most compatible with Microsoft.