UPDATED 12:11 EDT / FEBRUARY 25 2011

Google Maneuvers to Further Horn in on Microsoft Office’s Turf with Cloud Connect

cloud-connect Google seems to have its eye on the unfettered office with the release of a new free tool that will ease the portability of Microsoft documents to the web for collaboration. The tool, Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, will integrate into Microsoft Office products and enable them to wed their files with the Google cloud editing software that runs word processing, calendar, and spreadsheet software.

From the looks of it, this would both be a way for people to escape from the extremely costly Microsoft products into the free (and low cost at volume) Google cloud products and also perhaps a bridge between them.

According to an article on the product release in the Wall Street Journal Google has big things planned,

The company says it takes Office files, uploads them to Google’s servers and gives them a unique Web address so they and can be accessed through Google Docs from any Internet-connected device. The files can also be accessed from within Office.

Once the files are on the Web–also called the “cloud,” in industry parlance—documents can be shared and simultaneously edited by multiple people, Google says. The tool allows people to comment on documents online and display those comments so they are visible to others, Google says. Cloud Connect is free to individual users and paying customers for Google Apps.

Microsoft themselves have been working hard on making their products—like Office for example—collaborate and capable of storage offsite. They also own one of the most popular, if not the most common, software office suites in the business. As a result, Microsoft spokespeople have come out saying that they’re not worried about Google’s rustling in the bushes.

Microsoft Office has a long tradition of being used in corporate atmospheres and most users are already extremely used to it.

This project seems to be yet another salvo in Google’s fight to bring Microsoft Office into the cloud as late last year they released software to allow legacy MS Office products connection into the cloud. After that, a bridge with contemporary software and the ability to just up and move into the cloud sounds a lot like the proper next maneuver, especially noting that Google has done a lot to also enable mobile collaboration with document development.

When it comes to office environments, sharing files has long been a huge method for increasing productivity. However, making sure that they merged back together again in a sane fashion quickly became a sticking point. This meant that one person had to be the final “editor” or gatekeeper of the final files (especially in the case of documentation.) Putting files into the cloud for multiple collaborators who can see each other’s changes in near real time takes away this effect.

Microsoft Office products have long tried to get this going but only recently have actually brought it into effect.

With Google running neck-and-neck with them it’s going to be an interesting ride.


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