Surprise, Surprise: Google Docs Isn't Ready for the Enterprise
File this one under "D" for "Duh." A new report by the Burton Group says that Google Apps Premier Edition isn't quite ready for enterprise applications. The report, according to Infoworld, says using Google Apps could be a "career-limiting move for enterprise architects."
At $50 user the Google product may be an attractive, inexpensive option for companies, says Burton. "However, the seductive price can spell trouble for enterprise architects and their companies if they don't do their homework: the solution's rudimentary feature set means that enterprises need to pick carefully and implement slowly."
The report compares Google Docs and Spreadsheets to Microsoft Office and finds it well behind the Microsoft flagship in terms of features. Burton also says that limited support and hazy license terms that absolve Google from fault if loss of data, profits, or revenue occurs (even though your files -- and the app itself -- reside on their servers) makes Google Apps risky for enterprise users. The report concludes, however, that Google's web office suite is perfectly suited for deployment over college or university networks.
I'm not an enterprise user, but I still won't use web office suites for my day-to-day work. This has a lot to do with features that are missing from many of the online offerings, such as automatic footnoting, headers and footers, formatting options like drop case, margin notes, etc. It also has to do with other reasons, including security and control -- I simply feel more comfortable being in complete control of my sensitive documents, rather than having them on the web servers of a third-party.
There are a couple of areas where Google blows Microsoft Office away, though: collaboration, and access anywhere. Below are my thoughts for how Microsoft should address those things:
- Access anywhere - Stripped down versions of Office’s core apps accessible online would be a welcome addition to the Office family. Being able to automatically sync files from my computer to an online account -- and vice versa (giving me control over which apps I put online) would be great. That would allow me to make quick edits to my files from anywhere, even on a computer without Office. This requires two things to work properly: 1. don't make me use ActiveX and IE, and 2. Fix the confusing Office Live branding so the online tool called Office actually resembles the offline one.
- Collaboration - I would love to see Office integrate with MSN Messenger, so that I can chat live about a specific document and mark it up in real time with contacts. This would, by a large margin, trump the collaboration options available in current generation online office applications. Traditional changes tracking should of course be integrated into any online Office suite, as well.
Google, on the other hand, could beat Microsoft to the punch by releasing tools that let Office users automatically sync documents with Google Docs and Spreadsheets from within Office. It's important to note that for many, this isn't an either-or proposition. I use Microsoft Office for my serious writing, but when I need to share a document with collaborators -- especially if they need to do quick markups on it -- I share it through Google Apps.
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The "career-limiting move" move sounds like it's trying to scare people ... there are many ways of saying a product is not good enough without threatening.
Maybe they'll use "a marriage-destroying move" when analyzing OpenOffice then ....
Who sponsored the study? Google Docs is not focused on feature count, it's focused on the ability to collaborate concurrently on documents. It's real competition is sharepoint and wiki software.
You've got to be kidding about the license. Have you ever read a Microsoft EULA? They are not responsible for anything if it goes wrong. Not even bugs.
Doug K.
Great write-up. Google Apps is perfectly positioned for the SMB's but I doubt it enterprise ready as well. As a small business we love it primarily for the reasons you list that Microsoft should get their stuff together: Access Anywhere and Collaboration. We can manage our expense reports, work on proposals and even track invoices together or apart from across the room or across the coast. Not to mention that SMB's have no IT infrastructure -- being able to set-up, deploy and manage email on the fly has been a nice luxury.
Have you tried the Office components for collaboration, syncing and sharing? Specifically, Microsoft Office Sharepoint, Microsoft Office Groove, and Microsoft Office LiveMeeting?
Most of what you routinely ask for is already there...
I've used Groove, and it is a pretty neat product, but not quite what I'm getting at. I'm suggesting a real-time collaborative workspace, in that I can watch what you edit while you edit it, and discuss it via text and voice chat.
Also, as far as I recall Groove won't let you access and edit your files from any computer (i.e., even ones without Office or Groove installed) the way Google Apps does.
The linked article is just stupid... Google has always positioned it as a complement, not a replacement, to desktop office suites. And their marketing targets small-to-medium sized businesses and individuals, not enterprises. Is there anyone who really thought otherwise?
Well, Google does have an entire page touting Google Apps for enterprise deployment, and their customer testimonials page lists their enterprise customers first.
So they are indeed targeting enterprises in their marketing (certainly not only enterprises, but that is certainly a market they are trying to sell to).
Of course not - on the Enterprise they have those voice controlled computers. I guess we could could dictate to Google docs already though...
Well said and good thoughts!
I especially agree with this not being an either-or situation. I use Google Docs as my kind of portable notepad and collaboration platform. When it comes to serious writing, however, Microsoft Office is what's used.
Even being in college, I don't use Google Docs for my reports or anything similar. Part of this is due to how different a Google Doc looks from a standard word doc when printed as well as a bit of lacking when it comes to formatting features.
Eric -- this statement on Burton Groups website indicates that this report was not sponsored by anyone. YMMV of course.
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Google Docs is also missing a good macro tool. One of the most used enterprise features of Office is its macro recorder. I am surprised that Google has not added this yet.
I found a good workaround using the free iMacros tool from http://www.iopus.com/imacros/firefox/ - It helped me to automate the Google login, (measurement) data upload and adds the corresponding entries to the Google calendar tool.
iMacros is not restricted to Google Docs. It works with all websites. On the other hand, iMacros can not fill out Google Spreadsheet cells (yet?), which is something I really would like to see. I know Google Docs has an API, but that is overkill for the average office automation project.
This post is very interesting and logically created...Very nice...I agree to your point of views..