Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 9:03 AM
This week Microsoft will take its Office 2010 suite out of beta. If you’re considering upgrading Office with Office, we’d encourage you to consider an alternative: upgrading Office with Google Docs. If you choose this path, upgrade means what it’s supposed to mean: effortless, affordable, and delivering a remarkable increase in employee productivity. This is a refreshing alternative to the expensive and laborious upgrades to which IT professionals have become accustomed.
Google Docs has been providing rich real-time collaboration to millions of users for nearly four years. It lets employees edit and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in the browser from anywhere in the world. We recently made tremendous strides in improving Google Docs formatting, speed and functionality, and a growing number of companies are now using it as their primary productivity software.
Of course, you probably already own Office 2003 or 2007 (or maybe Office 2000?), and there’s no need to uninstall them. Fortunately, Google Docs also makes Office 2003 and 2007 better. For example, you can store any file – including Microsoft Office documents – in Google’s cloud and share them in their original format (protected, naturally by Google’s synchronous replication across datacenters). Plus, in the coming months, Google will enable real-time collaboration directly in Office 2003 and 2007, as you can see here.
Google Docs represents a real alternative for companies: a chance to get the collaboration features you need today and end the endless cycle of “upgrades”. For more information on the choices available to you, check out the summary below. But don’t take our word for it – you can try Google Docs and the rest of the Google Apps suite for free. The only thing you have to lose is a server or two.
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41 comments:
already upgraded to GDocs 4years ago! :)
I thought google docs was free
Wonderful service. Tks guys.
I'm a little worried that Google is going to do away with the free version of Apps. Would love to know if this is true.
Poor Microsoft...they just don't get it anymore. Of course, they never innovated as far as I can remember - it was allows evolution or just plain copying someone else.
Don't let this happen to you Google!
I have several Excel spreadsheets and Access databases with complex automation using VBA. Does Google Apps have a similar programming platform that can allow automation? Will MS Office VBA work on Google Apps?
Google Docs is really great stuff, and I'm glad that I have a powerful (and free!) office suite with all my documents on every computer that I use!
I always love google docs. :-)
Our company has considered this since we create short (1000 word) documents for publication that have to go an though extensive internal review. Having these on-line, rather than emailed around would be fantastic.
For us "track changes" is a key function as it enables the author can quickly see the proposed changes, then accept or reject them on a case by case basis. Unfortunately "revision history" just does not cut the mustard.
If Docs had track changes, and retained off-line in the current version, we would have already have switched.
So it was with great excitement that I read your posting as I've been trying to decide whether SharePoint 2010 Office Web Apps or Google Docs would be the best direction to point my company as my partners are all becoming netbook travelers.
I started by brushing the dust off my Google account to see what the Docs experience was like.
Unfortunately, my "netbook" is an iPad and there appears to be no way to author content as Docs considers it a "mobile" device giving it read-only capabllities.
At least SharePoint 2010 OWA is Safari friendly and leaves me with an alternative where I can still author content.
When this is no longer an issue with Google, I'll be happy to look at Docs once again.
What about OpenOffice.Org (and Go-oo)?
This kind of service will be more useful to Linux users than Windows users, because the most of windows-users don´t see outside the box.
Nice work on making Google Docs a real competitor, I'm looking forward to migrating all of our small organisations documents from Office to Google Docs.
DocVerse is "months away"? How many months? 12 months?
How about older Office versions?
I have been very happy with gdocs and use it in higher education for my teams repository of knoledge. In my web business I recomend it to all my customers as a free service for hosting with me.
Thank you for not jumping on the facebook privacy issue like office did just a few weeks ago, I quickly set my settings to block MS online.
Keep on rocking Google, can't wait to see real time colab!!
I will go for neither of 2, both "expensive" and requiring a fast internet connection.
I've been using google docs throughout high school.
The fact that all my old work is still there for me to reference and get a good start on my work in university, has been really helpful!
I appreciate the advice. That said, yes, I'm upgrading Office with Office.
As we always tell our clients Google Docs is the way to go, Office is a thing of the past! Also who needs Exchange? Microsoft products no longer make sense.
Until you provide easy https and other security settings, you will find very little support for this in the business environment.
Upgraded. Thanks again Google!
I appreciate your company trying to offer more alternatives to Microsoft Office. Honestly, MS Office has become more and more bloated over the years with a lack of real improvement on user features. For instance, the latest Xobni plug-in brings more functionality to my team than the entire upgraded feature set of 2007. I'll evaluate Google Docs further...
Google Apps/Docs is a great thing. But there is still a lot to do in order to become a real alternative to MS Office and other installable office applications. Examples: (1) It‘s not possible to have your own fonts, (2) It's not possible to change the page size (at least not sufficiently), (3) The presentation module is not good enough (take a look at Sliderocket.com and 280slides.com), (4) It's not possible to print directly
I support those that strive to make the world of tomorrow a better place. Google gets two thumbs up from me.
Now if only they invented wireless electricity that didn't kill people, I would sing their praises.
But there are major issues with browser speed and customization. There is no product which can match the specialization and offerings of Word, it is as an application the best word processor. You speak about concerns of IT professionals, what about the end user. While most don't take advantage of all the features word can offer, utilizing just some of its resources and customization blow away any product that Google can offer at this point.
werd
And what about the macros? Is there any tool in Google docs similar microsoft macros?
Just to make a comparation.
Yeah, but you still can't print a selected region with Google Docs. Lame!
Google, countless times you have proven yourselves to be a business of honor and integrity. Despite how anti-corporation I am at heart, there is no denying you guys are a "diamond in the rough", as it were. I have no intentions of buying Microsoft's product, and will gladly use yours instead. Cheers!
You are making way too much sense. How would the world work if people werent stuck in the hamster wheel of dependency and constant upgrades and annoyances?
Stop thinking. Just consuuuuume.....
I know a lot of law firms that would do just that if you guys made Pleading Paper a viable formatting option. Sorry Google, but you're missing out on an enormous field because your formatting simply ain't robust.
Why microsoft word are so expensive?
Hi,
Will this also work with OpenOffice ?
Thnx
I use Google docs extensively. I do wish that you'd expand the number of available fonts.
If google docs worked full feature on the iPad I'd never use Office Online.
Full function of google docs on the iPad...when?
It's been a couple of years since I last installed MSOffice in favor of gdocs.
When google makes Chrome OS a full featured OS I think MS will vanish :D
@Eneias, @Daniel: Have you considered Google Apps Script? It's a cloud scripting language that you can access from Google Spreadsheets and lets you automate processes like approval requests, document tracking, or mail merge, to name a few. For more information, see http://www.google.com/google-d-s/scripts/scripts.html.
Rock-on Apps Go get 'em
if want milk why to buy a cow?! order milk only. Microsoft is selling us the cow, grass, water and you need cowboy to look for you cow. Google simply more convenient and innovative
I'm moving our distribution company to Google Apps for business. It's paid for the second I approve the purchase since we no longer need a tech. person.
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