To the Cloud
Google's cloud strategy is now solidly in the enterprise zone:
Today, Google is launching a new plugin for Microsoft Office called Cloud Connect, which will tie Google Docs directly into the ubiquitous productivity suite, free of charge. Editing a document in Word? It’ll automatically sync to your Google Docs account each time you hit ‘Save’. Want to share a preview of your document without worrying about what file format your coworkers can open? Just send them a link to the Google Docs file. The plugin supports Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and it’s a big deal for Google’s strategy with Docs.
You have to wonder how Microsoft feels about that. On the one hand, it does plug into their tools; on the other hand, it gives a nice glide ramp off those tools and over to the Google suite - which is free for the small/home end, and very inexpensive for the enterprise side. If nothing else, the price points MS charges for Office should start coming under real pressure...
