The User Case for Google Docs

In my last few years as a freelancer (and having to pay for all of my work-related hardware and software), I’ve discovered the joys of doing more with less. Literally. I mean, really, who needs to invest in the Microsoft Office platform when one can easily use Google Docs for free? It’s easy to access, intuitive and, for someone like me on a budget, priced right at $0. Plus, my documents are available wherever I am, as long as I have an Internet connection. Don’t have my computer with me? No sweat. As long as I’m online, I can access my information.

In fact, I work with clients who keep entire projects managed via Google Docs, enabling everyone involved in the project access to necessary information at any time. Plus, we can write notes to each other in the project documents to keep everyone up to date and make changes on the fly — good for those clients whose due dates change more often than not.

Google Docs is a cheap and easy way for me to be productive, but I’m just one person working mostly with small groups, you might point out. And you’d be right. But Google is working hard to make a name for itself in the enterprise as well, including recently adding 24/7 phone support and mobile device management to its list of features. And it’s making inroads — enough, in fact, that Microsoft has taken to poking holes in the Google Apps story. (And when Microsoft starts beating up on you, you know you’ve hit a nerve.)

I understand there are certain tasks that have to be done using proprietary, expensive apps, but I’ve come to believe in the power of simplicity. My biggest gripe to date has been not being able to access my documents when I’m offline, but Google now offers users the ability to work on their documents even when they’re not connected to the Internet (the only caveat is the user must be using Google Chrome).

Which then begs the question: Why invest the money in software and licensing — and the time in installing the software — for proprietary applications when Google and other open source applications offer the same functionality at a fraction of the price, if at all? Google paved the way for a good number of people to get comfortable with using software that’s free (thereby ignoring completely the adage, “You get what you pay for”) yet functional and pretty darn easy to use. Let’s hope that comfort level spills over into the enterprise — I’m sure any company would love to see their software costs go down.