Google Docs Aims At Microsoft Office Live

mikesd81 writes "Channel News reports that Google took an important step forward Monday in its rivalry with Microsoft Office Live, reporting that Google Docs will allow users to edit word processing documents offline. Google said users of its Google Docs word processing application can use Google Gears to save and then edit documents without being connected to the Internet. 'The offline capability will be limited to word processing documents, though the company plans to add it to spreadsheets and presentations in the future.'"

Rivalry?

[truthsearch]

There's a rivalry? I need to share spreadsheets with many various clients and they always suggest Google Docs. Never once have I heard a person ask to share a document with Microsoft Office Live. And my clients are each in very different industries.

Is there any real competition yet between the two in terms of user base?

Commoditization of software

[TheMeuge]

Google is riding the wave of computer hardware commoditization into one where general computing is also a commodity. Google's approach here is exemplary because it shows that monetizing every aspect of the consumer's digital interactions (which is essentially the current model for computing/internet-based businesses in the U.S.) is not necessarily the key to maximizing one's profits. By providing basic services free of charge, Google gains a share of a market that wasn't traditionally its own, and thus gains billions of additional impressions for its ads. Furthermore, by leveraging its trusted name, Google can now reasonably expect a fair increase in its ad audience with every additional service it offers.

This is a genius idea, which is an example of how forward thinking and good PR can bring in higher profits than unadulterated greed (yes, telecoms, I am looking at you). However, what this also means is that with its large cash purse, Google can continue to provide further services, channeling more and more monitor-watching eyes to its own webpages. Its purchase of Youtube provides ample evidence that Google won't be upset if you spend 100% of your computing time, on a Google-branded internet.

Re:Rivalry?

[teknopurge]

Where the other 99.99999% of the business world just emails the Word doc to the people that need it.

You're right, there is no rivalry. OpenOffice is the only thing within striking distance of MS Office. Google Apps is a joke.

Regards,

Opposite talk

[Vexorian]

Didn't docs come before office live?

Re:Rivalry?

[Hyppy]

An intelligent businesses from anywhere but the U.S. would avoid Google Docs or Microsoft Office Live or any of these web-based document solutions like the plague. The USAPATRIOT act is quite the liability, especially for businesses that must report any access of customer data by outside entities. A bit hard to do that when the access is done in secret, eh?

Re:Rivalry?

[Anonymous Coward]

>>Google Apps is a joke

Oh yeah? I bet you have not even tried it. No matter what Google haters and similar mods say, it is a very good online office application. In fact, I do not use MS Office any more (and have not even bought it with my latest pc) and guess what? I have not missed it at all, and in fact sharing it with others was never so easy. Sending docs by attachments? Not for me, anymore.

Different people and organizations have different needs. Saying "Its a joke" is as good as saying "MS Office is a joke". It serves a particular segment of the market and it serves it pretty good, and its getting better.

Now fuck off.

I find Google Docs very useful

[MarkWatson]

I still use LaTex+OmniGraffle for serious writing and OpenOffice.org when customers use Microsoft document formats, but I find myself using Google Docs more for short notes, short papers, sharing writing with other GMail users, etc.

The addition of Google Gears based local document storage over the next few weeks will not be a feature I ill need often, but it will be good to have.

BTW, I use a utility tht you can find on the web (gdatacopier.py) to periodically back up all of my Google Docs - just in case.

Re:Rivalry?

[MightyMartian]

It's a decent Office app. It's certainly no OO.org or Word, but for my particular needs, it's more than adequate. Being able to use it offline will make it much more useful.

Re:Commoditization of software

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting.

By providing basic services free of charge, Google gains a share of a market that wasn't traditionally its own, and thus gains billions of additional impressions for its ads.

I'd never really thought about it before, but the way you put it, this sure sounds a lot like "embrace, embrace, extinquish." Google gives stuff away for free (Microsoft bundles games, anti-spyware, anti-virus and browser to OS) to gain more ad impressions (gain more software market). Google won't be upset if you spend 100% of your computing time, on a Google-branded internet. Microsoft won't be upset if you spend 100% of your software budget on MS products.

Although I use both of their services, I have no allegiance to MS or Google. It just seems like history repeating itself. We can only hope our new overlords are kinder and gentler. The one thing that spooks me a little is MS has never been in control or had access to the extreme amount of personal data Google does.

Re:Commoditization of software

[moderatorrater]

this sure sounds a lot like "embrace, embrace, extinquish."

Where's the "extinguish" for google? Microsoft destroyed opponents by gaining their market share and then killing compatibility, making it so that things that worked on other platforms worked for Windows, but the opposite wasn't true.

Google's in significantly different markets and using different strategies. They're not pursuing marketing techniques to get market share, they get market share through having a superior product. When you use Google, you're not locked into using them all the time because of other considerations; there are no barriers to using yahoo instead.

Their google docs don't use a proprietary format, they use everyone else's formats, including word, pdf and openoffice. This means that the barrier for moving from google docs to another system is only the hassle of transferring the files, not in the formats being incompatible. They're not practicing lock-in of any kind, which is the fundamental difference between Google and Microsoft at this point: Google's playing nice, Microsoft is playing however they can.

So the comparison is dumb and inflammatory. Google's business model has been wholly different from the Microsoft model and (business-wise in the US) free of dirty tricks and underhanded maneuvers. Punish and condemn google for the bad things they've done, not for being the most successful software company to come around recently.

Re:Commoditization of software

[Anonymous Coward]

So the comparison is dumb and inflammatory. Google's business model has been wholly different from the Microsoft model

Is it really? Can we agree that Google has a virtual monopoly on search? And a vitual monopoly with ads? The comparison is not between the business models. The comparison is between a dominant company getting outside its core business to gain market share for its core business. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing. Any smart company in their situation would do the same thing.

You are right that MS and Google have gone about it very differently. We were forced to get fucked by MS. We are begging to get fucked by Google, because she is much sexier. I'm just saying I'm not convinced she'll turn out to be any less dangerous when it's all said and done.

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Re:Rivalry?

[SCHecklerX]

A google apps appliance on the corporate LAN would be a huge win. Imagine how easy to support and scale it would be.

Re:Rivalry?

[MightyMartian]

I have to concur here. Open source desperately needs a good email-calendaring solution. Give me something that uses normal protocols like IMAP, and I can not only kiss Outlook goodbye, but the hideous resource-eating monster Exchange. I could start moving towards Samba solutions and save $$$ on Microsoft's huge licensing costs.

Re:consortium needed

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Apple appears to have made a deliberate corporate decision to be incompatible with OpenOffice.

I disagree with this. Rather, I suspect Apple has not prioritized ODF and created their iWork applications based upon their own format for convenience. If Apple as a company was trying to be incompatible with OpenOffice they would not have added ODF support to TextEdit. I would venture to guess that Apple sees the business case for supporting import and export to MSOffice formats, but is as yet unconvinced about ODF and whether it will succeed in the marketplace. I hope that they understand that they can help to influence the direction of the market in a positive way by moving to ODF as the native format for their offerings, but even I am not sure that is really the case.

There is really nothing to be gained by Apple for helping open standards; they'll probably just license OOXML and tout their Windows compatibility.

Actually there is (potentially) something to be gained. By supporting ODF they can become one more vendor that helps demonstrate the benefit of ODF over OOXML. They can also qualify as a vendor for purchases in the future that require ODF (as some government agencies are now moving towards). Anything that hurts Microsoft and weakens their monopoly influences, leads to a better market for Apple to compete in. The only question for Apple is if it is worth the cost and is the battle already lost by ODF?

Re:Rivalry?

[teknopurge]

I debated whether to reply to this or not - but I'm wrapping up lunch so...

I have tried it. Google Apps is a joke when compared to MS Office.

That's fine that Google Docs meets the needs of many people - I think it's great when any software is useful. Just have the sense to not put it in the same division, league, or even planet as MS Office. For all the anti-MS arguments there are, they have some solid productivity software.

In a knife-fight between (MS office+sharepoint+exchange) and (Google Apps beta v0.5) I would take the MS option every single time until someone shows me something better. And you know what? I'll be more productive, have more control over my data, and not rely on a multiple 3rd-parties for my spreadsheet to work.

Again - right tool for the right job. Other then small teams that are not mission-critical and don't need the advanced features MS Office has I cannot think of a situation where Google Apps meets that challenge.

Regards,

Google Docs vs Microsoft Office Live

[Per Abrahamsen]

I have evaluated both for use by my workplace, mostly because I despise the the "document sharing through email". I used cvs (and LaTeX) for collaborations on group assignments as a student back in the 80s, so I know how much better it can be. Unfortunately, both fail in my current work environment.

Google Docs fail because it is not Microsoft Office, and I'm not going to convince my cow-orkers to learn a new set of office applications.

Microsoft Office Live fails because it is too complicated and confusing for me to learn, much less teach. I couldn't even figure out if the documents are under version control, and the "integration" into the office applications is a joke (it is very slow and requires multiple indirections just to open a document, and it takes a separate navigation bar).

So while my workplace is a lost cause, I use Google Docs with my family. It has a simple and intuitive interface, and my family are much less tied to MS Office than my workspace.

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