Microsoft Says the Cloud Is the Future, Google Concurs

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 08 Mar 2010

Earlier this month, at the University of Washington’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said that cloud computing is the way of the future, it is the thing that will change the way people and businesses use technology. That is why Microsoft has Windows Azure (a platform that allows application and services to be created and used in the could) and Windows Live ID (identity and authentification system). As Steve Ballmer sees it, the cloud is a huge opportunity for Microsoft and the rest of the tech industry. See Ballmer’s whole speech here.

Mountain View-based search engine giant Google concurs with Redmond-based software giant Microsoft. This fact became obvious a few days ago when Google announced that it acquired DocVerse.

“The future of productivity applications is in the cloud. We've always believed the web is the best platform for creating and sharing information, and Google Docs has already helped millions of people become more productive. But we recognize that many people are still accustomed to desktop software. So as we continue to improve Google Docs and Google Sites as rich collaboration tools, we’re also making it easier for people to transition to the cloud, and interoperate with desktop applications like Microsoft Office,” commented Group Product Manager with Google Docs, Jonathan Rochelle.

Google’s latest acquisition, DocVerse, is a company founded by two former Microsoft employees, Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui. What does the company do? It provides a plug-in for the Microsoft Office productivity suite that lets users collaborate in real-time with other people. What DocVerse does is let you use the Office desktop software just like you always did; and it stirs things up by adding the same sort of functionality you would expect to get from Google Docs. The great thing is that you can use the applications you’re familiar with (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); you don’t have to become familiar with some other tool that enables you to perform real-time sharing and editing of Office documents.

“DocVerse is a small, nimble team of talented developers who share our vision, and they’ve enabled true collaboration right within Microsoft Office,” added Rochelle. “With DocVerse, people can begin to experience some of the benefits of web-based collaboration using the traditional Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop applications. A huge "welcome" to the DocVerse team and their customers!”


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