AllThingsD » Google Sites

Google Makes It Easy To Try New Apps Right Away, Or Not

Arik Hesseldahl — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:00:21 +0000

IT managers crave stability because new applications and features have a tendency to create chaos. If you’ve ever worked in an office where the IT manager hasn’t upgraded to the latest version of this or that application, you’ve probably seen that craving in action. New things can have unintended consequences, and so don’t get deployed until they’ve been tested–which in some places doesn’t happen until long after they’re new.

Cloud applications like those found in Google Apps are a little different. Since everything works within the browser, there are fewer, if any, things that are likely to break when a new app or feature gets introduced. And Google likes nothing more than pushing the latest shiny things–new features and apps–to its users as soon as they’re ready. Not all IT managers are cool with that, however, because it forces them to get familiar with the new apps and features before they’re ready to field questions about them from their users.

Today, Google is making it possible to choose between being an early adopter or taking a more careful approach by giving Google Apps administrators a two-track deployment approach. One track, known as Rapid Release, gives users access to new apps and features as soon as Google rolls them out.

The second track is known as Scheduled Release, and gives admins a week to familiarize themselves with new apps and then allow their users to get them on a weekly basis, with updates taking place every Tuesday. Google says new features for GMail, Contacts, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Sites will follow this new release schedule going forward.

DocVerse–Now Google Cloud Connect–Head Shan Sinha Talks About Web-Based Biz Apps

Kara Swisher — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:00:22 +0000

Earlier this week, I motored the Mini down to the Googleplex in Silicon Valley to visit with entrepreneur Shan Sinha.

He headed the start-up DocVerse, which was acquired by the search giant in March for a reported $25 million to $30 million.

Since then, Sinha has been ferreting away on scaling up DocVerse’s product, which allows users of Microsoft Office documents to collaborate in real-time on the Web.

Its new name: Google Cloud Connect.

About 4,000 companies quickly signed up to be early testers in the preview program, and Google said it had thousands of requests to be notified when it becomes available, which will be in a few weeks.

DocVerse was founded in 2008 by Sinha and Alex DeNeui, who both used to work at Microsoft. It raised only $1.3 million in venture funding from Baseline Ventures, Harrison Metal and Naval Ravikant.

Google’s acquisition of it was yet another shot across Microsoft’s software bow, along with a range of mashups of cloud computing and productivity applications.

For example, Google has been pushing its own cloud-based Google Docs to compete against the Office juggernaut.

For its part, Microsoft has committed itself to moving its hugely popular productivity suite–which includes Word, PowerPoint and Excel–into the cloud, in order to protect its software hegemony.

Why? Simultaneous group-editing and collaboration online is the future of Office.

Clearly, the race for productivity applications is in the cloud.

So–along with Cloud Connect –Sinha has been put in charge of deploying a $50 a person package of them, including Sites, Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Video, to millions of business users.

Here is Sinha talking about all of that and more in the video interview I did with him:

[ See post to watch video ]

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

Google Adds Cloud Access to Enterprise Search Appliance

Voices — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:27:57 +0000

Google, which is encouraging businesses to adopt its Google Apps productivity applications, is now making that cloud-based data more accessible for companies that also use its Search Appliance. Now, in addition to enabling intranet searches, the updated Search Appliance’s Cloud Connect will also pull in results from Google Docs, Google Sites and Twitter. The new version also adds People Search, which lists the company employees related to the search subject.

Microsoft’s ODF Support Good … On Paper, Anyway

John Paczkowski — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:00:53 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Welcome to GooCities!

John Paczkowski — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:43:41 +0000

Google Sites, the search sovereign’s creatively named collaborative Web-site building service, is now available to any registered Google (GOOG) user, not just those with Google Apps accounts. No HTML required. No fees, either. It’s like GeoCities or TheGlobe.com without the massive quarterly losses …