Microsoft and Google battle with cloud computing

In the world of computer software, becoming dormant or, God forbid, complacent, is a death… In the world of computer software, becoming dormant or, God forbid, complacent, is a death sentence.

Microsoft is all too aware of this as they struggle to keep people interested in their operating systems.

Google, a company that seems to never stop to catch its breath technologically, is a rather surprising threat to Microsoft — the undisputed chief among the current thick-client software companies.

Over the years, Google has attempted to usher in so-called “cloud computing,” where the storage and processing of data is distributed over multiple computers connected through the Internet.

Google Docs, its current and most viable cloud product, allows users to edit Microsoft Office-esque documents, including text documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint-like presentations, etc., directly from their browser. Saved files are stored on Google’s remote servers and are therefore available on any Internet-enabled machine.

Not wishing to be outdone, Microsoft, which up until now has dominated the market on office productivity suites with Microsoft Office, announced a move toward the cloud with Microsoft Office 2010. This latest iteration, according to Microsoft, will include a suite of online tools, accessed through Windows Live, that will have the same functionality, look and feel as the Microsoft Office 2007 many companies have grown to tolerate.

Microsoft has thus far only released descriptions of its Office 2010 product and is not planning on allowing consumers and businesses to test beta versions before the release.

A recent ComputerWorld article explored the two competing products in as much detail as humanly possible.

ComputerWorld ultimately seemed to give the two products a tie score. Microsoft promised to give the Office 2010 website-based applications the same interface as the Microsoft Office products that are currently available to consumers.

In ComputerWorld’s opinion, this gave Microsoft Office an edge for usability, as consumers will more than likely already know how to use Microsoft Office 2007 by the time Office 2010 is released.

Google got more kudos for flexibility, however. In true Microsoft style, collaboration and sharing with Office 2010 is only possible through Microsoft SharePoint Server. Google, conversely, allows instant collaboration by sharing information with other Google Docs users across the Internet.

Another analyst at ComputerWorld thinks that the SharePoint dilemma is unimportant, however, because Microsoft will ultimately have to bow to the computer world’s equivalent of peer pressure.

The popularity and satisfaction of SharePoint is such that users will undoubtedly demand more flexible — and more reliable — forms of data sharing. The Google Docs advantage might therefore disappear.

Ultimately, according to ComputerWorld analysts, the cloud computing dilemma will be solved in the same way that it always is in the computer software-buying world.

Corporations will not want to begin using a product that is new and scary — i.e. Google. Microsoft still has the infrastructure, the support and, in some semblance, the technical documentation to make corporations feel comfortable in pouring millions of dollars into upgrades.

A similar problem might exist for Google in a sector in which it feels significantly more comfortable — the individual, often young, user.

College students, in particular, might prefer Microsoft because they are bound by the restrictions of fitting into an existing University-led network.

At Pitt, we will undoubtedly be given copies of Office 2010 for free. ComputerWorld did cite an increase in Google Doc usage among 20-somethings, but Microsoft hasn’t released Office 2010 yet.

Google will ultimately need to gain the trust of its users, both by springing back from recent service outages and continuing the comfort advantage that they hold over older companies like Microsoft.

After all, cloud computing is all about giving some shadowy corporation all of your data, rather than keeping it well-stored on a local hard drive.