Google Executive Says Companies Can Get Rid of Microsoft Office...Next Year
The Google executive in charge of Google Enterprise is talking smack about Microsoft Office, saying that firms will be able to get rid of the software suite in one year's time.
Man, those are some fighting words. The remarks came from Dave Girouard, president of Google's enterprise division, in an interview with ZDNet Asia.
In context, what Girouard says does make sense. Open formats are the rule these days and proprietary formats like those from Microsoft will have less of an appeal. But it may not be just Google that rules the enterprise. Microsoft SaaS offerings will become more robust and a number of new players are making headway.
Girouard, one of four presidents at Google, said that in a year's time, Google Docs will have a "point of capacity," that will be enough for people to make the switch from Microsoft Office.
He admitted that at this point, Google Docs is much less mature but efforts are underway to add 30 to 50 new features and performance upgrades that will put it in a position to work for the "vast majority" of users.
He added that Microsoft Office will never go away but as it stands it is overkill for most users. In his words, Office will be more for specialty users.
Hubris? Perhaps. Microsoft still has a huge lead and its Sharepoint product is really the future for Microsoft's place in the enterprise.
But open formats are what's hot. Young people are used to the way the Internet works. They have access to so much information that it is critical for them to port it to where they want it to be. Girouard says this movement will spread into the enterprise.
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Right now though, Google Docs is still pretty awful. I keep trying to use it, but it's buggy. Unlike, say, OpenOffice, which is entirely usable, and in some ways easier than Microsoft's product.
I have tried OpenOffice before switching from MS Off.03 to 07. Old documents were not the same, my documents were not looking good on MS office. Same goes to google docs. Office will be as long windows will AND everybody will move from MS to alternatives. Nobody will change that. Especially web apps.
Girouard is dreaming. Microsoft is offering an online version of its top-rated Office suite, OpenOffice can't compare, and consequently Girouard has a tough sell ahead of him.
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Next Year! Not even close. Consider Microsoft Office for the professional and Google Docs for the amateur. Yes that person that needs to do occasional spreadsheet tasks would be happy with Google Docs, but never an advanced user.
As the CIO managing technology for 14,000 users all I have to say is: quit teasing me.
I can't be the only one who's not in a hurry to switch office suites!
.. I don't feel that having "Google" in the title of my software rather than "Microsoft" is a very compelling reason to switch if there's nothing wrong with MS Office.
I mean seriously, between Sun (now Oracle), Google and Microsoft there's really only one company I'd expect a good balance of UI, functionality & features for general use and because of my experience with NetBeans, JDeveloper & GMail it's certainly not the first two.
Google wishes!
The president of Google's enterprise division may be right, but not in the way he would like.
MS Office Web Apps could replace the desktop software for some users next year.
Furthermore, a FREE version of MS Office software, the new "Starter" edition, will be available by then.
Open Office is not good enough to replace MS Office or even MS Office Web Apps. Google Docs is even worse, and the security failures with Google Docs to date are enough to ensure that Google Docs can never enter the mainstream, which should come as a relief to us all.
Are you serious?
I couldn't agree more. I guess coming from Google people this could sound like marketing, but the emergence of mobile devices as an alternative computing platform and cloud services make Office look like a dinosaur.
Why would you believe the car salesman telling you his brand is better than the competitor round the corner.
But won't Google catch up pretty quickly, considering its ability to quickly make feature and performance improvements? And what about Microsoft's massive security failures?
Google Docs is an excellent service for the small business. The question, it seems, is how it will be accepted in the larger enterprises.
I personally tend to favour SSuite Office’s free office suites. Their software also don’t need to run on Java or .NET, like so many open source office suites, so it makes their software very small and efficient.
http://www.ssuitesoft.com
I think it is just a matter of time before Google overtakes Microsoft also in the Office field.
The connections to everything else Google, the Google OS initiatives and the development of cloud computing all points in that direction.
Cloud computing is here: MS Office 2007 sells for $10, yet small business are moving to Google docs ... http://tinyurl.com/ybkktz9
I'm all about "open source" computing and have been for a while. MS Office is an expensive luxury; I use Open Office on a USB stick as well as Google docs. Have to get away from putting all our computing eggs in one basket.
Security Holes? really? have you been under a rock for the las 10 years? you should update your facts and research on the most secure O/S on the market (You will be surprised!).
I am not sure that Google represents the "open format" model. Infact, people who are interested in using collaborative tools around their Office suite are tied to Google Apps if they opt for Google Docs. People who use MS Office have a greater choice of collaborative suites, because companies develop around MS Office since it is ubiquitous.
Ever tried to prepare a professional looking presentation to send to a potential client using GDocs? Yeah right Mr. President. Google might be succeeding in their bid to control most of the world's information but MS Office still sets the standard for business software. People will always love free but will usually pay for the right product.
I think it is just a matter of time before Google overtakes Microsoft also in the Office field.
There are many people in this world who dont change fast with the
new technology and so there will be millions of people who will
continue using Microsoft's office. Google is going to launch I
will try the google as the marketing from google is very powerful
and it has given Microsoft a open challenge .