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Google Docs Editing Comes to Android, iPhone and iPad

By Fei on November 19, 2010

By Jared Newman
November 19, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Docs editing for Android, iPhone and iPad isn’t all that it could be, but it’s a start.

The long-awaited editing features are rolling out over the next few days for Android 2.2 and above, and for iOS 3 and above.
Once enabled, you’ll see an Edit button in the top right corner of any document. Tapping it takes you out of read-only mode so you can start writing.

I haven’t received the rollout yet, but judging from Google’s blog post and demonstration video, editing appears to be primitive compared to proper office apps, with only the ability to write text in the document’s current font, edit spread sheets and add bullet points. I do like how edits appear in real time, so you can collaborate from the road.

The list of missing features is still pretty long. You can’t create new documents, change fonts or styles, add hyperlinks, format text, add images, or do any other advanced editing that Google Docs already allows on the desktop. Spreadsheet editing is also completely absent.

For Android users, mobile Docs editing does add one neat feature — the capability to input text by voice — but considering everything you can’t do with Google Docs on mobile phones, it’s hard to recommend it over a proper document app if you plan to do a lot of work.

For iPad, I still like Office2 HD, which syncs to Google Docs and has most of the editing and document creation features that Google Docs Mobile omits. I haven’t had much of a reason to edit documents on the phone, so I’ll default to PC World’s App Guide, which gave high marks to QuickOffice Mobile Suite. That app, available for iPhone and Android, syncs to Google Docs and other services.

Still, you can’t argue with the free service Google is offering, and I have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll hear of mobile document editing from Google.

5 Awesome Free Tools For Small Businesses

By Fei on November 15, 2010

By Keir Thomas
November 15, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – These are frugal times for business, and an organization starting out might have very little money to spend on IT. Even if you’re part of an established business, you’re probably feeling the pinch.

Here are five extremely useful computing resources that are free of charge for small business users–unlike some “free” services you might see that are only for home users. These choices have few if any restrictions, and are established services unlikely to shut up shop anytime soon.

1. Google Apps For Business

If your organization has under 50 employees, then Google Apps for Business (formerly called Google Apps for Domains) is for you. It offers free e-mail under the umbrella of your own organization’s domain name (You can pay Google $10 to reserve a domain name, if you don’t already have one). You can also have your own private Google Docs system along with your own Google Calendar system.

In use, the e-mail system looks and feels just like regular Gmail, except that your own organization’s e-mail addresses are used rather than a Gmail one (such as, bob.smith@yourdomain.com, rather than something like bob.smith1964@gmail.com). One nice touch is that the e-mail address book is shared automatically amongst your users.

It’s all hosted on Google’s computers, so you won’t need your own mail server computer. You’ll benefit from almost zero configuration and maintenance, plus a promised 99.9 percent uptime guarantee. Put simply, Google takes care of everything for you. The spam filtering is the same excellent system as Gmail, which is to say your employees just won’t be bothered by anything dodgy.

There are some limitations on the free version. As well as the 50 user limit, each user account can send e-mails to only 500 recipients per day. This won’t be an issue for most of us, but it’s easy to imagine an enthusiastic sales person hitting that ceiling now and again. You also can’t send attachments larger than 25MB, although this will only be an issue for those working in the media industries who have to ship around large photographs or video files.

Even if you have to pay to upgrade to the Premier Edition, which allows unlimited users and a host of other benefits, it’ll only cost $50 per year. Who can argue with that kind of value?

Some service providers, such as Dreamhost, offer free-of-charge one-click configuration of Google Apps for any domains you have registered with them.

2. Dropbox

Dropbox is a sync and backup tool that makes use of the cloud to remotely store files. Once the Dropbox software is installed, you’ll find a new Dropbox folder on your hard disk. Anything stored in this folder is instantly transferred to Dropbox’s cloud storage system. This is done invisibly, and using the Dropbox folder is just like using any other folder on your hard disk.

The benefits are that you can then install Dropbox on another computer and, using the same login details, recreate your Dropbox folder. Anything saved in the folder on computer A will automatically appear in computer B’s Dropbox folder, and vice versa. Indeed, you can add-in computers C, D, E, and so on, and even mobile devices can get in on the action. There’s a Web interface that allows access to files, too.

Perhaps the chief benefit for business is that, should a notebook get stolen or lost, restoring its files is as simple as installing Dropbox on a new computer, entering the username, and letting it sync the contents (provided your employees have been trained to always save their files in the Dropbox folder, of course).

Dropbox offers free 2GB of storage per user, which is enough for hundreds of modest office documents, and I couldn’t find any restrictions on business users signing-up for free accounts. All you need is to download the client software and sign up during the installation process, using your e-mail address.

Before you ask, yes, it’s massively secure. SSL connections are used to make the transfer of data to and from the cloud, and all data is stored using AES-256 encryption. Even if a stranger were to somehow pull your data from the cloud, it would be gibberish.

Each user can make the leap to 50GB of storage for $10 per month, or 100GB for $20. This isn’t a huge amount of money, although it could add up once your organization starts to grow.

My colleague Rick Broida discussed a similar new service called SugarSync, which offers 5GB of free storage – 3GB more than Dropbox. However, my personal preference is to stick with the long-established Dropbox.
3. Microsoft Security Essentials

License fees for antivirus software are taxing for those who use Windows. We’d rather not pay, but there’s no way of getting around it. Most free antivirus products, such as AVG, are free only for home users.

However, Microsoft has recently opened-up its Security Essentials software for free small business usage (It was previously free only for home users.). Alas, the license agreement states you can only use it on up to 10 computers in a corporate environment, but this is still better than nothing. If nothing else, it means that you’ll have 10 fewer antivirus licenses to pay for. (For larger organizations, Microsoft offers its Forefront product range, which has various licensing systems.)
The new Security Essentials looks good. It’s certainly good at spotting viruses, although it can be a little slow when scanning compared to competitors. However, considering the $0 price tag, I’m sure we can all live with this. Security Essentials is available for all recent versions of Windows, from XP up.

4. Linux

Don’t worry. I’m not going to advise you switch to Linux on your desktop computers. From a purely financial standpoint this has rarely made much sense for smaller businesses, considering they usually pay for Windows licenses without any choice when they buy a new PC.

Instead, I’m going to recommend Linux for your file servers. This avoids the need to pay for expensive Windows Server licenses. If you go with something like Ubuntu, the most popular form of Linux, you’ll pay nothing at all for an installation serving an unlimited number of client computers.

Ubuntu’s other chief advantage is that, as a popular form of Linux, support is never far away. Googling any problem will almost certainly reveal somebody else who’s had the issue, or you can head over the hugely popular Ubuntu Forums to ask for help.

In terms of technology, Ubuntu offers Samba, which can effectively recreate a modest Windows-like file and printer sharing setup. Both Macs and Windows computers will have no problems connecting, and will be unaware that they’re not connecting to a Windows server.

If you have an old PC you can mess around on, try downloading Ubuntu Server and giving it a try. You might have to reach back into your memory to remember those Unix 101 classes, but there’s a wealth of free documentation out there to help you get started.

5. Go-OO office suite

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you probably already know about OpenOffice.org, the open source (and therefore free-of-charge) office suite. This keeps getting better with each release and is now a definite contender for lighter-weight office tasks. If you haven’t looked at it recently, it’s well worth a trial.
I find it very useful for those upgrading from an older version of Office and who are confused by the ribbon-based user interface, found on recent releases of Microsoft Office.

However, it’s been a busy time in the world of OpenOffice.org, and Oracle’s acquisition of Sun–owners of OpenOffice.org–has dropped a bomb from which the dust is still settling. The LibreOffice project has picked-up the reins but is still in beta testing stage, so at the moment I recommend the existing version of Go-OO as the best free-of-charge office suite around. Based on OpenOffice.org with some useful tweaks here and there, its chief advantage is support for Microsoft’s newer XML-based file format (such as the DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX file extensions), which is the default in all recent releases of Microsoft Office.

Why Google Docs Editing on the iPad Matters

By Fei on September 22, 2010

By Tony Bradley
September 22, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Google announced that it will soon roll out updates to Google Docs that will enable editing from the iPad or from Android smartphones. The move is long overdue and increases the value of Google Docs, as well as the productivity of the iPad tablet.

The promise of Google Docs is the ability to work with documents in real-time from the cloud anywhere that you can get an Internet connection. Sadly, that promise has been only partially fulfilled when it comes to smartphones and tablets.

Since Apple launched the iPad, there has been significant debate between fans of the tablet and PC purists over whether the iPad offers any intrinsic value for mobile business professionals, or if it is merely a consumer gadget with no productive purpose. The iWorks for iPad apps such as Pages and Numbers offer some functionality, but without a local file system the iPad relies on cloud-based storage to work with data.

Google Docs has been viewable on the iPad, and the Google Docs spreadsheet app has offered some rudimentary editing functions, but the lack of a fully functional Google Docs has been a major roadblock for both Google Docs and the Apple iPad.

Tools like Memeo Connect have helped to bridge the gap some, but having to work with various apps to try and work with files in some sort of Band-Aid approach goes against the sort of simple intuitive experience that users expect from an Apple device. The reason that this move by Google is so important is that it simultaneously increases the productive value of both Google Docs and the iPad. Mobile computing from tablets and smartphones takes on a whole new meaning with access to a fully functional Google Docs environment.

Of course, Google Docs is still a pale, stripped down shell of what Microsoft Word is capable of, and despite claims of document fidelity files that are moved between Word and Google Docs have a good chance of having the formatting jacked. Mobile editing of Google Docs is great for businesses that already use Google Docs, but organizations that rely on Microsoft Office are still better off with Documents To Go.

Unfortunately, Documents To Go was recently purchased by RIM and its future on platforms outside of BlackBerry is uncertain. The ball is in Microsoft’s court to follow Google’s lead and enhance its mobile Docs.com offering to enable editing from the iPad and/or upcoming Android tablets.

Google Docs On the Go With the iPhone and iPad

By Fei on August 20, 2010

By Tony Bradley
August 20, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Mobile business professionals have been able to sync Google Docs to the iPad and have access on the go even without a live network connection using the Memeo Connect app, but iPhone users were out of luck. Now, Memeo is launching version 2.0 of Memeo Connect–including an iPhone app extending the Google Docs capabilities to the popular smartphone.

Spencer Chen, director of corporate communications for Memeo, described the hurdles to developing the iPhone version of Connect. “It’s hard to believe, but iPhone support had a hard time making it onto our roadmap due to the many commitments to our partners, such as Google, Western Digital, Seagate, Netgear, and most recently Sony. But we couldn’t ignore our users…they were screaming for iPhone support.”

Aside from introducing an iPhone version of the app, Connect 2.0 also adds new features and capabilities to the Memeo app. Connect can now perform Google-powered searches of the full text of Google Docs content. The app also now provides a “download all” Google Docs option, as well as the ability to cancel all uploads.

The Connect 2.0 app–especially with the addition of the Connect app for the iPhone–is a great tool for businesses that are using Google Apps for business productivity. Microsoft still has a dominant position–a virtual monopoly–on the business productivity with the Microsoft Office suite, and on messaging with Microsoft Exchange, but Google is making progress in convincing businesses to adopt its cloud-based alternative.

While Google is aggressively trying to stake its place in larger enterprises–such as the city of Los Angeles or the United States government–it still faces a tough battle. Chen notes “The data, statistically and anecdotally, is clearly telling us that Google Docs adoption remains in the mid-market…the SMBs and very small enterprises,” adding “The disruption always comes from the low-end off the market. Enterprise adoption is coming along slower, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Microsoft Office just celebrated its 20th birthday and Google Apps is not going to displace that overnight.”
Chen also had some thoughts to share on the competitive landscape. “Memeo Connect’s unfair advantage will always be our ‘backend’…Google. Our deep partnership and even deeper product integration provides customers with the ideal joint solution. Memeo’s proven expertise in data management and file sync together with Google’s mind-numbing portfolio of web technologies makes for a formidable content management offering.”

While I agree with Chen that Memeo–with its partnership and integration with Google–has some distinct advantages over competing platforms such as Box.net or Dropbox, that relationship is both a blessing and a curse. Memeo has an upperhand when it comes to organizations adopting Google Docs–those organizations are in the minority. Organizations that haven’t embraced Google may find more benefit from using a less Google-centric solution.
Regardless, Connect 2.0 introduces some useful functionality, and those organizations or business professionals that do use Google Docs will welcome the capabilities Memeo brings to the iPad and iPhone platforms. Check out the new and updated apps in the Apple App Store.

Should you trust Google?

By Fei on July 7, 2010

By Paul Venezia
July 07, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – It’s not the first time that I’ve had this question on my mind, but reading Matt Prigge’s post last week — which echoed my own sentiments about cloud computing — led me to contemplate why we seem to consider Google’s cloud more trustworthy than others.

Nobody pushes cloud computing harder than Google: Gmail, Google Docs, Google Apps, Google this, Google that. It’s all based on a framework of remote resources and an amorphous blob of processing that’s been tuned to spit out whatever we happen to be looking for, accept whatever documents we create, and send email and IM messages. And unlike so many other cloud service providers, Google seems to be accepted in this role, while others inspire skepticism.

[ Also on InfoWorld: Read about Google's adventures in Wi-Fi snooping in France. | Check out Neil McAllister's comparison of Google Docs and Microsoft Office Web Apps. ]

Most people have heard Google’s corporate motto, “Do no evil,” which has been challenged again and again, from censorship in China right up to Google Street View cars detecting and cataloging nearby Wi-Fi networks. Google claims the latter was inadvertent, but the company is still in hot water for it.

Nonetheless, Google is going a step further. To feed Google Places, it’s placing cameras in certain public places and establishments, so you’ll be able to view the interior of a restaurant, say, before heading out for dinner. And this seems perfectly fine to most people. I wonder what the reaction would be if Microsoft or Oracle tried the same thing? Would it be all roses and sunshine, or would people look at some crusty, beady-eyed Oracle guy and send him packing?
Somehow, Google has convinced the world that the company isn’t, in fact, evil. That’s despite the fact that Google is the most powerful force on the Internet today — a position that companies with different corporate mentalities might wield like a truncheon.

But Google steps lightly and presumes nothing. The famously sparse home page remains free of ads and clutter — a design so beloved that when Google introduced a Microsoft Bing-like background image a few weeks ago, the Internet exploded with outrage, and the situation was quickly reversed. But screaming about background images is like yelling at a prison guard for the quality of the food: You’re still under lock and key, even if the consistency of the pudding improves.

Recently I’ve noted how much Facebook knows about you, but make no mistake, Google knows plenty, too. Based on IP information, they know your searches, naturally, but they also know everything you do with Google tools. Planning a trip? They know where you’re going and how you’re getting there if you use Google Maps and directions. Correlate that information with keywords in messages in your Gmail account and you can determine times, companions, specific destinations, the whole works. Use Google Maps on your smartphone and, technically, they could track your progress.
Given the paranoia about so many other intrusions such as government surveillance, snooping bosses, predators, whatever, it’s amazing what Google has gotten away with. We’ve taken the candy, and in return we’ve given up significant levels of privacy to some huge corporate entity that we inexplicably trust not to betray us.

Maybe we trust Google because it has been benevolent in the past — in not “monetizing” when it could have, in promoting open source here and there, and in providing whimsical perks to its employees. Sure, now and again we’ve sucked air and said, “Oops, that was kinda evil.” But strictly speaking, the company hasn’t screwed over enough people to dent its public image. The idea that Microsoft — or even Apple — could ever make that same claim is almost comical.

Google also has the benefit of being constantly available. Can you even recall the last time that Google Search was unavailable or down? Some apps have had snafus in the past — notably Gmail — but the Google main page has always been ready for service, fast as you please. And that impeccable reliability may have more to do with why folks trust Google with their details, documents, pictures, videos, and so on than anything else.

Me, I don’t trust the cloud. I don’t know that I ever will. Yet I have a Gmail account and I use Google Maps and a variety of other Google tools all the time. At this point in the evolution of the Internet, it’s impossible not to. Let’s just hope that those in control of our information can truly be trusted to do the right thing. Hope, in the end, is all we can do.

Five Things the iPad Needs to be Complete

By Fei on May 4, 2010

By Tony Bradley
May 4, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – I pre-ordered the Apple iPad, so it has been a month now–or near enough–that I have had my 32 GB WI-Fi iPad. I have had ample opportunity to try it out in different scenarios and form a reasonable opinion about both its capabilities and its inadequacies.

I love the iPad. It is my default mobile platform. It is lighter, thinner, smaller, and faster (for at least some tasks) than my notebook, yet still allows me to do virtually everything I might need to do while on the go.
It’s not perfect, though. Here are five things that I feel the iPad needs to be complete and to truly enable me to be productive anywhere and anytime.

1. File Management. The iPad–whether you choose the 16Gb, 32Gb, or 64Gb model–has a finite amount of memory to work with. There is no way to upgrade or expand the storage capacity of the device, so it makes sense that you don’t really want to store files on the iPad. Storing data on the device itself also makes it a greater risk should it be lost or stolen.

Fair enough. It’s a mobile platform in a cloud-driven world and I can store my files on Box.net, or iWork.com, or Google Docs, or a Windows Live SkyDrive, etc. There are plenty of free or low-cost options for storing data on the Internet.

However, the iPad doesn’t even make accessing those files simple or intuitive. I can view a file in Box.net, but in order to work with it in Pages or Numbers I have to e-mail it to myself, open the file attachment, then tap the button at the top right of the display to open the file in the appropriate app.
What a convoluted pain from a company that prides itself on an intuitive interface and exceptional user experience. Not storing data on the iPad itself makes sense, but let’s figure out how to streamline access to cloud-based files.

2. Embedded Links. This may not come up on a regular basis for other users, but one of the most glaring deficiencies of the iPad–or more specifically of the iWork for iPad Pages app–for me is the inability to add or embed URL’s in a document. I use the iPad to write articles such as this one (although not this particular one) when I am away from my home office, but adding links to other articles and resources is less than intuitive as well.

What I do is insert asterisks to note where I would like to link the text or embed a URL, then e-mail the file in Word format to myself so I can open it in Microsoft Word once I return to my desk, add the necessary links, and post it online.

If I am not returning to my desk, I suppose I could connect from the iPad using the VPN capabilities, upload the content, and add the links from within the article publishing tool at PCWorld, but embedding links is not exactly a cutting edge feature and ought to be expected within apps like Pages and Numbers.
3. Camera. I admit that it would look a tad silly to be holding up the iPad and shooting photos. Most people don’t carry around cameras the size of a magazine. And, as portable as the iPad is, I still don’t leave home without my iPhone–which does have a camera. So, it’s not imperative per se.

That said, it also seems sort of like a no-brainer. I think many were shocked that it wasn’t included in the first edition iPad and fully expect there to be a camera–or dual front and back cameras–in the next iteration of the iPad. It would be useful to be able to record video messages, or to participate in video conferencing via Skype or other tools using the iPad.

4. USB. This point sort of fits with the first one about file management. The cloud is available anywhere the iPad can connect to it, so it works fine for storing data in most cases. However, there are many situations that arise where a peer or customer would like to share data and the most convenient and appropriate means of doing so is via a USB thumb drive.

The iPad should have a USB port, and it should provide a mechanism to be able to view the contents of a thumb drive, open files in the appropriate app, or transfer them–either to be stored locally on the iPad, or at least to allow me to move them from the USB thumb drive to my cloud-based storage solution.

5. Multitasking. Despite persistent claims from vendors and fans of competing smartphone platforms to the contrary, I have presented a case for why I feel that multitasking is not necessary for the iPhone. The screen is too small to display two apps at a time anyway, so the tradeoff in battery life and security issues seems like a losing bet.

The iPad uses the same OS, though, and the iPad can benefit from multitasking. Many apps are written to at least retain their state–so if I switch away to use another app and come back to it I can pick up where I left off. That is at least close to multitasking. But, I want to be able to be engaged listening to a Webex presentation, and switch away to instant message with a peer, check my calendar, or shoot off a quick e-mail without shutting down the presentation.

The only other thing that I have missed on multiple occasions is the 3G access. I bought the Wi-Fi model of the iPad, and I have recommended that most people save the additional $130 and stick with the Wi-Fi model. Every McDonald’s has free Wi-Fi access, as do many other restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, campuses, and public areas.

However, my daughter’s gymnastics gym and dance school don’t have Wi-Fi access available, and I have found myself wishing I had Internet access while sitting idly for an hour. I maintain that the Wi-Fi model is more than adequate for most users, but roaming business professionals will definitely want to at least have the option of enabling 3G if necessary.

Should You Move Your Small Business to the Cloud?

By Fei on February 2, 2010

By James A. Martin
February 2, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Cloud computing. For some, the term is wildly nebulous. Not long ago, even Oracle’s Larry Ellison publicly asked what the heck people meant by “the cloud.”

For others, cloud computing instantly raises concerns about security and reliability. After all, Gmail, a popular cloud-based e-mail service that has endured some high-profile outages, didn’t earn the nickname “Gfail” for nothing.

Before you dismiss the cloud as a lot of vapor, though, listen to what three small-business people told us about their experiences with it:

• “We saved over $4000 in up-front costs by moving to an entirely cloud-based solution [for e-mail, Web hosting, virus protection, and more]. We were also able to substantially reduce our power bill and the costs needed to maintain and upgrade hardware.” –Bob Everett, president, Bottom-Line Consulting, a three-person firm offering various small-business services.
• “As a non-IT person, I find cloud-based applications easier to set up and use than many [computer] applications, and I don’t need to rely on internal IT support as much for assistance.” –Cristina Martin Greysman, executive vice president, business development, Vuzit, a six-employee software company.
• “A power surge nearly destroyed our in-house e-mail server. Had we not recovered it, a great deal of historical knowledge and valuable information would have been lost forever, not to mention the lost productivity for days or weeks. Now we have a secure, redundant, cloud e-mail system we can access anywhere, anytime, with a consistent interface, and it’s made our business stronger.” –Kevin Hart, partner and founder, Hart-Boillot, a ten-employee marketing and communications agency.
To be sure, cloud computing has its shortcomings (more on that later); but small businesses looking to cut computing costs and improve efficiency during this long recession are finding the many benefits of Internet-based software and services increasingly attractive. In fact, companies with 100 or fewer employees are expected to spend $2.4 billion on cloud computing services in 2010, up from $1.7 billion in 2009, according to Ray Boggs, vice president of SMB research for IDC.

Here’s what you need to know about cloud computing: what it is, pros and cons, suggested services, and tips for applying it to your business.

What Does Cloud Computing Mean?

For decades, engineers have drawn a cloud to depict a network (such as the Internet) whose inner workings were unknown to them. From there, cloud computing evolved as a term to describe free or subscription-based services delivered in real time over the Internet.

Cloud computing can refer to software as a service, such as Salesforce.com for customer relationship management (CRM); to file storage, synchronization, backup, and other utility computing, such as Dropbox; and to infrastructure as a service, including Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud, which delivers customizable computing capacity over the Internet.
For further discussion of what the cloud covers, see “Cloud Computing Explained.”

Examples of Cloud Computing Services for Small Business

We queried dozens of small businesses about the cloud services they use, and why they use them. Among the most popular services were these:

• Google Apps ($50 per user per year) and Google Docs (free) are offerings from the Google cloud empire. Google Apps is a business-class version of Google Docs and includes souped-up Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs (for word processing, spreadsheet, presentations and forms) components along with administration capabilities.
With either Google Apps or Google Docs, your data remains in one place no matter where you access it from, according to Brian Armstrong, founder of BuyersVote, a product review site that relies on Google’s premium services. Despite Gmail’s periodic outages, Armstrong says, Google’s cloud tools are “actually more secure on the whole because, although you’re trusting your data to an external provider, Google works hard to secure a ton of data; and it’s the sort of attention to detail that you probably don’t have time or money for in your local IT department.”
• Box.net (free for 1GB of storage; $10 for an individual plan; $15 monthly for three or more users) is an online workspace service for file sharing and collaboration. Paul Rosenfeld, cofounder and CEO of Fanminder, a mobile marketing firm with 12 employees, calls it “incredibly easy to use and powerful”: “Having a virtual team makes it nearly impossible to coordinate workflow without their tools,” Rosenfeld says.
• QuickBooks Online ($10 to $35 per month), unlike QuickBooks installed on PCs, makes collaboration easy across a small team. “It enables our bookkeeper, accountant, and outsourced CFO to all look at the same up-to-date information to advise us on our financial situation,” says Nicolas Boillot of Hart-Boillot, whose company uses the service.
• Skype is popular for its free video chats as well as for the low-cost calls to landline and cell phones that it makes possible. Brand Thunder, a browser customization firm with 11 members, uses Skype for all-team meetings, says Patrick Murphy, the company’s founder and CEO. Though Skype call quality varies, the service “allows easy and open communication between team members, despite their being geographically dispersed,” he says.
• Highrise for CRM and Basecamp for project management ($24 to $149 per month each, depending on the level of service you choose) both come from 37signals. A number of small businesses we contacted recommended these services for their feature sets and ease of use.

The Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud-based services can help small businesses dramatically reduce their software and other computing costs.

For example, Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Business will cost $199 for a downloadable version and $279 for a boxed version. By comparison, Google Docs, which offers office productivity tools via the cloud, is free. (Microsoft is currently working on Web-based versions of Office 2010 apps.)

Storing files on a secure, reliable, cloud-based service helps eliminate backup worries and gives you anytime access to your files. Usually, cloud-based services are simple to use–the only things you need are a computer (or in some cases, a mobile handset), a browser, and an Internet connection. And such services require no maintenance from the user.

Easier collaboration with colleagues in distant locations is another oft-cited cloud benefit.

“If you’re the kind of small business that has employees who work from different places–or has remote employees, board members, or vendors who need access to your data–cloud computing is the only way to go,” says Rosenfeld of Fanminder.

These benefits enable small businesses to “stay focused, be more collaborative, and bring products to market more quickly, because they’ve got access to the kind of infrastructure that only large companies used to have,” says Judith Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz & Associates and a coauthor of Cloud Computing for Dummies .

The Cloud’s Dark Side

The biggest misgiving that most businesses have about the cloud involves security, according to two recent surveys.

In a December 2009 Forrester Research survey, 51 percent of SMB participants said that security and privacy concerns were their top reasons for not using cloud services.
Similarly, respondents to an IDC survey in late 2009 said that their biggest worries about cloud computing were, in descending order, security, availability, and performance.
It’s not difficult to find instances of security breaches in cloud computing, of course. On the other hand, you can’t entirely eliminate risk from any computing environment. Intruders may hack into files stored on your business’s own servers or hard drives. Hard drives may fail. Unencrypted information stored on laptops may lead to identity theft or lawsuits when the laptops go missing.

Cloud computing security lapses are “like airplane disasters,” says Rosenfeld. “Trillions of transactions happen without any problem every day. You only hear about it when something goes wrong.” Rosenfeld adds, “I know enough both to worry about [cloud computing] security and to not give it too much thought.”

Here are some other commonly cited concerns about cloud computing:

• Privacy: How much data are cloud companies like Google collecting about you, and how might that information be used?
• Availability: Will your cloud service go down unexpectedly, leaving you without access to critical customer records, e-mail, or other information for hours or more? Gmail outages are widely reported, but Salesforce.com and other well-established services have gone dark on occasion, too.
• Data loss: Some online storage sites have shut down abruptly, sending users scrambling to recover their data, sometimes with only 24 hours’ notice. And T-Mobile Sidekick users were unhappy to discover that their personal data had been erased from their devices–especially when Microsoft said that the data loss was irrevocable. (A few days later, Microsoft announced that it had recovered most of the data.)
• Data mobility and ownership: Will you be able to share data between different cloud services? If you decide to stop using a cloud service, can you get all of your data back? What format will it be in? How can you be certain that the cloud service will destroy all of your data once you’ve severed ties with it?

• Tool robustness: Cloud-based tools frequently aren’t as powerful as software applications. Google Docs, for instance, lacks a number of features that Microsoft Office has had for years, such as the ability to track changes in a text file.

Tips for Moving Into the Cloud

Once you’ve weighed the pros and cons, you may be ready to take your first steps into cloud computing. Before you do, consider these tips from small businesses that have already made the transition.

• Start small. Cloud computing is a different way of working from what most people are used to, and building familiarity and trust takes time, says Trevor Doerksen, CEO and founder of MoboVivo, a 12-member video content portal/software company. Doerksen recommends starting small–for example, by having two or more workers collaborate on a Google Docs file. Once team members grow more comfortable with the new work environment, you can start adding more cloud services to the mix.
• Think big. Can the service you’re considering scale to meet your needs as your business grows? If not, keep looking.

• Make sure you can export your data in standard formats. You’ll want to be able to export in the formats used by Word, Excel, and other programs you use. That way, you can back up (and access) your data locally or move it easily to another service later.

• Read the agreement closely. To use the service, you’ll most likely have to accept an endless service-level agreement or other contract at the outset. Read it carefully to ensure that you know what you’re paying for, what the service provider’s privacy policy is, whether there are fees for early termination, and so on.

• Get creative. Look for ways to use free or low-cost cloud tools instead of more-expensive ones, suggests Doerksen. For example, his team uses free Google Docs spreadsheets as a basic CRM system, rather than springing for a paid CRM cloud service.

• Evaluate more than one service before deciding. Most services offer a free trial, and “you can usually figure out in 10 minutes whether the service’s user interface will drive you mad or is easy to use,” says Rosenfeld.

• Consider open-source cloud services. This arrangement encourages third-party developers to build add-ons that make a cloud-based service even more feature-rich. Plus, it allows you to create your own tools for using the service that are unique to your business.

• Don’t be afraid. It makes sense to cautiously approach any big change in how you do business, and this certainly applies to moving to the cloud. But many feel that the business world is already making the transition to cloud computing, and–given the lousy economy–now is a good time to make the transition.

“I can’t think of any company that shouldn’t try it,” says Doerksen. “If you don’t, you’re missing out on an opportunity to prepare your business for the future.”

Google Docs Desktop App Available Now

By Fei on January 22, 2010

By David Coursey
January 22, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Memeo Connect for Google Apps is a desktop application that syncs desktop files with the Google Docs cloud. It helps with file conversions, too, and is available for both Mac and Windows.

The application was the centerpiece showpiece of Google’s Jan. 12 announcement that all types of files can now be stored in Google Docs. This makes Google Docs a more useful tool but also reveals more of its lack of depth.

Memeo Connect, released Monday, requires a Google Apps Premier Edition account to function. Premier Edition is the paid version of Google Apps and costs $50 per user annually.

Priced at $9 per user annually, Memeo Connect tries to solve two issues, first that Google and Microsoft use different file formats for document storage, and second, the challenge of keeping files synchronized between Google’s cloud-based storage and multiple desktops.

I’ve had a chance to test the release version of the application, which has worked just fine for me.

The program does a good job–sometimes too good–of demonstrating the formatting problems involved in moving documents in and out of Google and Microsoft formats.

Microsoft formatting and features are lost when converting to Google formats. The less-rich Google formats are, in my experience, pretty much unchanged when converted for use in Google Docs.

As a workflow, it is best to start a document in Google Docs and leave it there for collaboration and editing before flowing it into Word for formatting and pricing/distribution.

Microsoft-formatted documents are best downloaded from Google Docs using Memeo Connect for local editing in Microsoft Office. At this point, I would definitely not recommend the wholesale conversion of Word or Excel files into Google formats.

Maybe when Google Docs grows up, but not before. That maturation would include the ability to view Microsoft docs from within Google Docs, which I could as a major shortcoming once you can load such files to the cloud.

Also, Microsoft documents added to Memeo Connect must thereafter be opened from inside Memeo in order to keep the changes synched with Google Docs. The synchronization is automatic.

The program also creates local PDF versions of Google Docs for offline viewing, which is a nice touch.

If your only need is to store files in Google’s cloud, Memeo is an excellent helper. I really can’t find anything wrong with the program that somehow isn’t Google’s fault. Nice user interface, drag-and-drop to add files, almost too simple to use.

Yes, you could manage your files directly in Google Docs, but Memeo Connect for Google Apps will do it with much less work and attention on your part. And at a reasonable price.

Google Embraces Partners to Straddle Desktop-Cloud Divide

By Fei on January 15, 2010

By Tony Bradley
January 15, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Google has unveiled plans today to allow Google Docs to store any type of files, and revealed a new tool from Memeo to enable users to access, migrate, and synchronize files between their desktop and Google Docs. These announcements signify a broader strategy by Google to help business customers bridge the gap between the desktop and the cloud.
Google has been aggressively vying for business customers to adopt its various cloud-based products and services as alternatives to the traditional Microsoft culture: Gmail instead of Exchange and Outlook, Google Docs instead of Microsoft Office, Chrome instead of Internet Explorer, etc.

Even Google, though, as dominant and powerful as they are in many areas of technology, can not ignore the fact that Microsoft occupies a comfortably dominant share of the enterprise messaging and business productivity software segments. As compelling as its products are, Google’s customers still have to operate in and interact with a Microsoft world.

Many customers see appeal in what cloud-based applications and services have to offer, but they are reluctant to trust the cloud. Businesses rely on the availability of messaging and business productivity applications and there have been enough outage stories to give potential customers reason for concern. Trusting all data to the cloud with no local or alternate backups is also like playing Russian roulette.

As much as Google might wish for a mass exodus away from Microsoft, it has recognized that customers can not simply turn off or walk away from Microsoft entirely, and that customers are tentative about putting too much trust in the cloud too soon.

To address those issues, Google has shifted its strategy some and embraced third-party partners to enable customers to take advantage of what Google has to offer in the cloud without giving up the tools and software they use on their desktops.

I interviewed Spencer Chen, director of corporate communications for Memeo, who explained “There have been more than one proofpoint and market research study surrounding how businesses intend on deploying Google Apps. The overwhelming feedback points to a hybrid-model–where [customers] need to continue their investment in office productivity suites like Microsoft Office (since it is such a prevalent standard), but intended on taking advantage of unique online collaboration capabilities that only Google Apps can offer. It really was the best of both worlds for SMBs and enterprises.”

Chen added “Believe me, Google knows this intimately and are leveraging it with customers to gain beachheads into some big customers!”

Allowing users to upload files of any type into Google Docs, and expanding the maximum file size as high as 250Mb for most file types provides users with a means of sharing and collaborating on files that are far too large to be sent via email. The default storage space is only 1Gb, though, so users that plan on heavy use of Google Docs as a file storage or collaboration solution will have to pay Google for additional space.

Memeo Connect for Google Apps lets users migrate and sync data between desktop-based applications like Microsoft Office and Google Docs. Manymoon provides users with an online project management solution. Syncplicity gives users the tools they need to manage files and automate backups.

Each of these partners fills a unique gap in the services provided by Google, and makes it easier for potential business customers to leverage the benefits of what Google has to offer without abandoning the investment in, and familiarity with, existing products and applications.

Chen described the interaction dealing with Google “In our 10-plus months working with Google on this particular initiative, one thing was evident: These are really smart people. Even though their world revolves around being on-demand and online, they were extremely conscious of the complete user experience–online and desktop. They clearly understood that the user experience didn’t merely end when someone closed their browser. We–as a software application company–were surprised…pleasantly surprised.”

The day may eventually come when customers can cut the proverbial cord and sever themselves completely from Microsoft Office if they choose. Until that day arrives, though, Google is taking steps in the right direction to give potential customers the latitude to embrace the cloud without surrendering the desktop.

Memeo Connects Google Docs to the Desktop

By Fei on January 14, 2010

By Tony Bradley
January 14, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Memeo, a privately-held company focused on helping users share, manage, and protect their data, announced the launch of Memeo Connect for Google Apps. The new tool enables Google Apps Premier customers to access, migrate, and synchronize files between their desktop and Google Docs.

Google has been courting business customers with its products and services, but most enterprises, and even small and medium businesses, rely on the applications in the Microsoft Office suite for business productivity software. While Google Apps is a robust solution on its own merits, customers need tools that help them leverage Google Apps in a world dominated by Microsoft Office.

In a press release announcing the new tool, Matthew Glotzbach, product management director for Google, said “More than 3,000 businesses sign up for Google Apps every day, and many of them are interested in a tool that effectively assists in the import and management of their existing files and documents between Google Docs and the desktop environment.”
Glotzbach added “Memeo Connect for Google Apps presents our customers with an attractive option to integrate or migrate all of their files into Google Docs.”

I interviewed Spencer Chen, director of corporate communications for Memeo. He explained that “Google has always been oriented around the cloud, but most enterprises possess a legacy of coming from an on-premise environment.”

Chen continued “Memeo has a great track record in providing rich, desktop applications with leading technology partners, so it was a natural fit for Memeo to jointly develop a solution that integrates that divide between the cloud and the desktop environment. Memeo Connect for Google Apps will enable customers to switch back and forth and manage any file type without limitations between these two environments.”

Alternative software like Google Docs, StarOffice, or OpenOffice offer options for businesses looking for cost effective business productivity software. The success of these products, though, relies on being compatible with Microsoft Office formats and conventions.

Even if a business is willing and able to sever itself completely from Microsoft Office, it can’t ignore the fact that Microsoft Office is the dominant software used by partners, vendors, and customers. These businesses need tools that help them straddle the line and transition seamlessly from desktop to cloud, and from Microsoft Office to Google Docs.

The addition of Memeo Connect for Google Apps, which will cost $9 per user per year, makes it easier for business customers to seriously consider transitioning to Google Apps without having to factor in the headache of trying to convert or migrate all existing Microsoft Office data to do so.

The Memeo announcement is indicative of a shift in strategy by Google to recognize that business customers aren’t ready to simply abandon the desktop or ditch Microsoft Office entirely, and to embrace third-party partners to help it fill in the gaps and deliver the functionality customers need.

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