INFO TECH:Google pushes the frontiers of Information Technology

Valentine Waturuocha March 2, 2010 11:59PM

Google continues to push the boundaries in providing features that are revolutionising the way we use the Internet, such as efficient basic keyword searching, analytics, the chrome browser, developer tools /API kit, Google Cloud, ad words and ad sense (- which allows anyone who has any type of content on the web to monetise it and make a decent income, if there’s significant traffic to the site, portal, blog etc).

To go even further, these Google products are integrated with mobile telephone technology, making it possible to utilise these features on the move. Let me delve further into the Google doc’s application.

Google docs (Google Cloud)

As the name implies, Google docs is another unique feature which allows you to create word documents, and excel spreadsheets that can be accessed, amended and saved over the Internet. Even with low Internet access connectivity speeds, the docs’ applications seem quite responsive: making it a very crucial tool. A programme director in a bank, who has to work quite a lot off site pointed out to me that this feature enables him to work as efficiently (as being in the office) and provides him with access to his essential documents and data in whatever part of the world he arrives at by just getting on the Internet.

Now I will have to assume, since I don’t work for Google (and not privy to the thinking behind creating Google Docs) that the product will likely be utilised by corporate professionals (such as my bank friend) who does not sit in front of a desk in the same office on a day to day basis and is quite mobile.

Pertinent questions: Is Google in direct competition with Virtual Private Networks which most corporations, companies, universities, government establishments and others who allow remote working of any kind already have? A virtual Private Network literally tunnels through the World Wide Web to provide encrypted remote access to everything on your desktop just as if you were in the office including access to your corporate email account and all other applications used within your organisation.

•In today’s age, laptops are portable and available in even smaller sizes (at very affordable prices), so it is likely that most people who will have a need to access documents and other data in real time or round the clock from wherever they are, will already carry a laptop.

The way Google docs will fare in competing with the two alternatives above, probably cannot be predicted at this stage but again it is another innovative feature from the folks at Google to assist in providing us, with an even more efficient way of working and collaborating.

The obvious implication for Microsoft Office application suite is also noteworthy and the question here is will Microsoft roll over and allow their market place dominance in this area be threatened or will they simply attempt to give out office applications as all bundled into the Windows Operating System?

We could be looking at another revolution in the making, in the way, we create, save, manage, and use our documents from remote locations, or working from multiple locations but I suspect that the take on Google Docs has been slower than expected which could also be attributed partly to the bullet points above.

The writer is an international IT and Business Process Consultant