Google May 6 said it will enable users to access Google Reader, Blogger and Picasa Web Albums from Google Apps in fall 2010, satisfying nine of the top 20 requests Apps users make from the company. The move signals an expansion of Google Apps beyond collaboration to other modes of information-sharing. This could provide some measure of defense as Google seeks to stave off challengers, such as IBM, Cisco and Microsoft, whose Office 2010 suite launches May 12.
Google May 6 said it will enable users to access Google
Reader, Blogger and Picasa Web Albums from Google Apps in fall 2010, satisfying nine of the top 20
requests
Apps users make from the company.
Google is moving Google Apps customers to a new
infrastructure where they will be able to access Google Web services that aren't
part of the core Google Apps collaboration suite from their Apps account.
"For example, co-workers will be able to publish
their organization's blog on Blogger, share project images with Picasa Web
Albums, track industry news in Google Reader, advertise online with AdWords and
much more, all without switching back and forth between multiple accounts,"
noted Dennis Troper, product management director for Google Apps.
The new apps won't initially be covered by the Google
Apps support and service level agreement for companies using Google Apps
Standard, Premier and Education Edition. However, Troper said the company will
evaluate future support options.
While Google plans to shuttle all Apps users to the new
infrastructure this fall, customers will be able to make the switch this summer
if they desire a head start.
The move signals an expansion of Google Apps beyond
collaboration to other modes of information-sharing. This could provide some
measure of defense as Google seeks to stave off challengers.
IBM LotusLive and
Cisco WebEx Mail have already entered
the nascent cloud market to challenge Google.
Microsoft May 12 will launch Office 2010, which in
addition to refreshed versions of its on-premise programs
sports Web-based editions of OneNote, Excel, Word and PowerPoint. The suite
will retail in June.
With Microsoft providing a Web-based alternative to
Google Docs, which itself was a Web-based alternative to Microsoft's on-premise
Office, Google will have to battle the massive enterprise market share and
cachet of the leading productivity and collaboration software provider in the
world.
Jonathan Rochelle, the product manager for Google Docs
and Sites, whose team just
revamped Google Docs with faster layout editors and other tools to make Docs
run better, said Google is more than prepared for the challenge.
Rochelle, who stopped by eWEEK's New York offices for a
chat May 4, said he doesn't truly understand Office 2010. Rochelle believes Microsoft
is offering a mix of on-premise and online programs that will confuse the
market.
"I really, truly believe that the complexity of what
you need from that set of tools to get what we offer today by just basically
singing in, is going to be difficult for consumers and businesses. That talks
to the difference [between Google Apps and Office 2010]. The difference between
our platforms is that we offer simplicity."
Market confusion aside, Rochelle still doesn't believe
there is enough justification to warrant local apps, noting that
"collaboration happens on the Web."
He called Google "lucky"
because it doesn't have an on-premise legacy code or customer base to bring up
to the cloud.
He added that customers don't have to upgrade to Office
2010 to get the capabilities they require when they can just go to Google Apps,
including the refreshed Docs suite, for them.
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