Google’s plan to offer a bundle of hosted office applications sparks a lot of talk about the search giant’s chances of upending Microsoft’s Office juggernaut, but leaves one question unanswered: Will enterprise customers give Google a chance?
On Monday, Google announced Google Apps for Your Domain, a set of ad-supported communications tools such as Google Talk, Calendar and Gmail, to target small businesses that don’t want to install and maintain software.
This initial volley, which analysts say is targeted more at upending Microsoft’s Windows Live plans, is expected to become part of an escalating battle between Google and Microsoft.
But if Google is really going to make a dent in Microsoft’s Office, it will need to win the medium to large-sized enterprises.
How the company plans to do that remains to be seen. In a statement, Google says its target market was everything from family Web sites and community groups to nonprofits and small businesses to universities and large enterprises.
As for the latter, Google says it will create a premium ad-free version “for organizations with more advanced needs” with details on features and functionality “coming soon.”
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Will the Enterprise Go for Google’s Apps?
