CRN has a short article about the latest update to Google Docs and better mobile support, especially for the Android. While anyone who follows the mobile world won’t be surprised by the content, it’s probably a good time to reflect on larger implications………………….
One of my recent clients had taken a close look at Google Apps which includes Google Docs. One part of their business decided to make Google Apps their go to suite of choice for many Portal and Collaborative activities. While my client eventually headed down the path of IBM, Liferay, and SharePoint; it marks the first time I saw Google’s offerings seriously considered. In fact, the main reason Google lost had more to do with regulatory concerns specific to their industry rather than feature and function.
Consider that the latest release of Google Docs fits a user demand we are seeing far more often. That demand goes something like this, “Why can’t you make it easy for me to share my documents with anyone from my computer and my phone or tablet?!?! (emphasis added)”. Now read this quote:
The update allows users to edit, update and share documents with the Google Docs app. They now can more easily view documents, PDFs and presentations; upload and convert files to the Google Docs format; share docs with contacts, share edits with collaborators; and make changes in spreadsheets.
‘We’ve brought the collaborative experience from Google Docs on the desktop to your Android device. You’ll see updates in real time as others type on their computers, tablets and phones, and you can just tap the document to join in,” Vadim Gerasimov, a Google software engineer, wrote in a blog. “We also updated the interface to make it easier to work with your documents on the go.”
Now I’ve lived the edit document from anywhere life and I can say that except for Dropbox or Box, none of the major vendors make it easy. Consider how I would edit a document on my tablet:
- From my tablet, go to my web site and get the file. This could be easy or very hard depending on the vendor. None make it extremely easy.
- Save it to your tablet……………..if that’s allowed. iPad users may have more problems than Android users
- Go into your editing software and open the file
- Do your work and save it
- Go back to your browser or app and upload it.
Now that’s a pain. Those who use Dropbox or Box are luckier because the tools like Office Suite Pro, QuickOffice, and Documents To Go all support hooking up to those repositories. But if your business has chosen some of the bigger vendors, you are out of luck.
Here’s my question to any readers, have you had any luck using mobile devices to easily edit and save documents? If so, how?
Here’s my query to Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM; could you please make it easier to work with documents from a variety of devices? That includes my laptop. If not, Google’s maturing solutions may become a default choice among a wider range of consumers and businesses.
