Google: "Docs makes Office better"

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 11 May 2010 at 13:33

Google has argued that Docs, its online office suite, actually complements Microsoft Office.

In an interview with Cnet, Google Enterprise president Dave Girouard claimed that customers looking to add online functionality to Office didn't necessarily need to shell out for Microsoft's latest upgrade.

Most people find, and they maybe perhaps don't expect it at first, that Google Docs works quite well with Office and in fact it makes Office better

"Most people find, and they maybe perhaps don't expect it at first, that Google Docs works quite well with Office and in fact it makes Office better," he said.

"If you think about the world moving into this cloud-computing era, it may well be a very good transitional strategy on some of your desktops or all of your desktops, and then have the ability to use a cloud-based application at the same time."

However, he wasn't suggesting that in years to come Office and Google Docs would continue to live in utopian harmony. Indeed, he argued that despite the forthcoming launch of Microsoft's Web Apps, the company's business model was looking increasingly dated.

"All Web apps aren't created equal," he said. "Microsoft is building products that are designed complements and require the desktop applications. We're building products that have no dependency on desktop applications.

"I think they have a strategy designed around their business model, which means they require Office and people to license Office. There are a lot of caveats and limitations in their Web Office stuff."