Google launches web-based software suite

The Wall Street Journal and The Times Online (UK) are reporting that Google
launched online word-processing and spreadsheet programs today, aiming at a
share of the Microsoft Office market. Here's a chart from the WSJ article:



  I can't imagine that this will have any kind of significant impact on
Microsoft Office, though...

So you'd be paying money and still get ads? also this doesn't seem to be very
different from the online productivity suites that have been available for 5+
years.

Wags, the rejoinders are just too easy, so I'm trying to stay calm while
composing a missive for my blog.

However, speaking purely as an SMB solution provider, I cannot see how I can
honestly recommend such a potential calamity product to my clients, even the
ones who perennially 'forget' to pay our invoices after 60 days.

My updated opinion on this should follow tomorrow

Google press says...
- 10 GBs of storage per user - Offers about 100 times the storage of
the average corporate mailbox, eliminating the need to frequently
delete email.
- APIs for business integration - APIs for data migration, user
provisioning, single sign-on, and mail gateways enable businesses to
further customize the service for unique environments.
- 99.9 % uptime - Service Level Agreements for high availability of
Gmail, with Google monitoring and crediting customers if service
levels are not met.
- 24x7 support for critical issues - Includes extended business hours
telephone support for administrators.
- Advertising optional - Advertising is turned off by default, but
businesses can choose to include Google's relevant target-based ads if
desired.
- $50 per user account per year - Simple and affordable annual fee
makes it practical to offer these applications to everyone in the
organization.

- Google Docs & Spreadsheets - With this addition, teams can easily
collaborate on documents and spreadsheets without the need to email
documents back and forth. Multiple employees can securely work on a
document at the same time. All revisions are recorded for editing, and
administrative controls allow organizations to define limits on
document sharing. According to custom analysis of Nielsen//NetRatings
MegaPanel released this week, 92 percent of users of online
productivity tools last October used Google Docs & Spreadsheets,
making it the number one product in its class.

- Gmail for mobile devices on BlackBerry - Gmail for mobile devices
provides the same Gmail experience - such as search, conversation view
and synchronization with desktop version - on BlackBerry handheld
devices for users of Google Apps. Gmail for mobile devices joins a
list of other mobile options for Google Apps and BlackBerry users that
already includes a Google Talk client and a variety of calendar sync
tools.

- Application-level control - Allows administrators to adapt services
to business policies, such as sharing of calendars or documents
outside of the company.

All seems good, but few of my concerns I commented out in zdnet blogs

I am pasting the same content here for easy read...

Google Enterprise suitable for Ad agencies
“Google office is to index Enterprise data”
if anyone assumes that Google office is for productivity; I guess you are out of
town, almost all enterprises already having productivity tools, I am not sure
why Google offering paid version, I guess in reality it will be very close to
free.

“Google servers always part of your business”
they are going to index all documents and store EXTERNALLY to your business.
Even Google servers cache business data, I have to write a formal letter to
remove “Dear servers, Please remove my data”, As usual it will be slowly
deleted in 30 days.

“Welcoming bots, and monitor it”
Google bots would visit your internal servers, and going to crawl whatever
available. 

“All the world information includes not only private data internal business
data too”. If I don’t want to crawl, then I have request to bot. 

“Always beta products”
Enterprise really wants these beta products? How much reliable they are? 

“Advertisement may be pushed into corporate world”
No more ‘Office assistant’, Ad assistance going to help me to buy BEST
products?

What kind of technology Google is going to provide to enterprise? How many
mothers are working in Enterprise to make NASA like deal? 

“Business data sold to unknown”
All the externally indexed data would be interpreted to add Advertisements. May
be used to create some statistic reports etc. I would read privacy policy 10
times before use it.

Kind rgrds
Saran

Thanks for detailing this out for us, Saran. I can't imagine this being
attractive to serious enterprise customers...and the idea of the Google bots
visiting my internal server gives me the willies. (technical term )