Why Google Apps is a big deal
The idea that Google Apps is somehow going to replace MS Office is silly. That’s not the point. After all, PC’s didn’t kill mainframes. Mainframes are still around, but look at what PC’s brought about.
As MaisonBisson nicely puts it, the key to all this is the change from “formatting single-author-print-it-and-file-it-(then forget it) documents” to tools that support collaboration throughout the life of the document. Google Apps is the start of the “evolution of office technology and communication, moving beyond the notion computers as elaborate typewriters (which happen to be networked), to applications that truly leverage the network as a business tool.”
Google Docs’ collaboration features are just the beginning. Here is an example:
For example, when Alice in New York enters something into her project, Meredith in Los Angeles can see the changes in real time, and respond to them immediately. Both work from a single document or spreadsheet, instead of having to laboriously compare and consolidate individual documents or spreadsheets, and editing is possible from any computer with internet access — whether in an airport or at a friend’s house.
Related posts:
- Just-in-time collaboration with Google Apps
- Google Apps and TIVO
- The top 11 reasons to use Google Apps
- Using Google to replace Sharepoint, LimitNone’s gShare bridges MS-Office/Google Apps divide
- Google Apps on your iPhone? Collaboration on-the-go
- Blodget: Google Apps as disrupter
- A brief critique of Burton Groups “Google Apps in the Enterprise”
- Google Apps, or saving your (data) under your mattress
- What a rip! Considering Sharepoint? Be fiscally responsible - investigate Google Apps
- JotSpot joining Google Apps revolution
