Google Docs, the New Document Collaboration Tool for Professionals

I've been using Google's new documents application and I think it's a must have for anyone needing to collaborate more freely with clients and/or teammates. It's called Google docs but they also have a version called Google Apps that's great for businesses and people working personal projects.

Before using google docs, I used Microsoft's Office suite exclusively. Microsoft Office was pretty much the only thing I knew how to use, plus everyone had it. Well, once I started using google apps I found that it could perform a lot of the same functions that I had been use to when using my Word, PowerPoint or Excel. I could write documents, create presentation and create spreadsheets with ease. I thought this was pretty neat. But the reason I really like this product is because of it's collaboration capabilities.

Once I created a document, I can share the document with anyone. When I say share I mean...I can send someone an email by putting in their email address and then Google would send them an email with instructions to access the shared document. Then according to the settings I set when inviting a person, the person can either view the document only or edit & view the document. I can even allow the user to invite other users to view the document or prevent them from doing this if I wanted to. I think this is a really great feature when working on projects with a team or a client.

In addition to the collaboration capabilities, the fact that this product is web-based gets it an extra bonus point. Google see the web as the next platform for a lot of the applications that we use today on our computers, and with this in mind, they've created an application that resides on the web itself. The benefit of this is that I can access my documents from any computer that has internet access and a browser. Prior to this, I had to load any documents that I might need while on the go on to a memory stick or some other device so I can pull it up later. Now, all I do is save it and when I need it later I just log onto my account from a computer with internet access and viola. I have access to all my docs.

Google docs/Google apps is yet another one of those wonderful products that I recommend to anyone looking for a way to collaborate more freely. For businesses thinking about using this product, we offer integration and training services to ease the transition. Just give us a call if you think this would be a good fit for your organization @ 843-882-7735.

I've just touched on a few of Google's document application feature set. For more information you can check out the following google page that provides a tour of google docs: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html