New Google Apps tools aim to bridge collaboration divide

25.02.2011
Google has released three new tools as part of its Google Apps suite, designed to increase collaboration in the enterprise.

Continuing its push to productivity and Cloud computing, Google has announced , a plug-in that lets users work together on the same file at the same time in Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 or 2010 on Windows PCs. It has also launched , a 90-day trial of Google Apps for businesses and a Collaboration Dashboard, which will enable greater visibility on how Google Apps documents are used within an enterprise via aggregated activity metrics.

"The momentum around Cloud computing is accelerating," said Google Apps product manager, Anil Sabharwal. "Google Apps for business pivots on people. It is inherently a collaboration platform. And the products across the [Google Apps] platform are inherently social."

Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, which is available for download as a plug-in, is available for Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 or 2010 on Windows PCs. It allows multiple users to work on a document in Word, Excel and Powerpoint at the same time without the need for collating and tracking changes.

It is not available for Office for Mac, which doesn't have open APIs support.