Most of us produce and work with a variety of files (documents, spreadsheets and presentations) each day AND we do all of it using our traditional tried and tested Office software applications which we procure and install on each of our machines, be it at work, home or anywhere else. This post introduces web-based office applications such as the freely available Google Docs which could be leveraged in conjunction with with your existing tools to enhance productivity and collaboration.
I have been using the set of web-based applications that come bundled as part of Google Docs, in addition to the traditional office applications for a while now and find the web-based tools very useful in areas where i need more folks to collaborate (including in real time) on a document i am creating or to share a document to a wider audience and have the latest revision always be available to all of them without me having to resend a copy of the file to everyone or to have some of my files stored centrally and accessible from any where and continue working on them using just a simple web browser (no additional software required) or not having to worry if i have the latest version of a file or even about regularly backing up files!
While there are very few data privacy concerns using Google Docs, i still retain confidential files on my local setup while using the web-based tool set to work on other documents that could benefit from being shared to folks i choose to view / edit them. This collaborative model may be used for a variety of applications, including tracking statuses, working jointly on a single document in real time and publishing reports that are automatically updated and available to everyone as when changes occur. You could find several other uses and scenarios where these tools may be applied to enhance productivity. If you haven't already been using these simple web-based tools, i suggest you give it a shot. You just might find them a nice complement or even in some cases a good-enough replacement for your present tools.
While there are very few data privacy concerns using Google Docs, i still retain confidential files on my local setup while using the web-based tool set to work on other documents that could benefit from being shared to folks i choose to view / edit them. This collaborative model may be used for a variety of applications, including tracking statuses, working jointly on a single document in real time and publishing reports that are automatically updated and available to everyone as when changes occur. You could find several other uses and scenarios where these tools may be applied to enhance productivity. If you haven't already been using these simple web-based tools, i suggest you give it a shot. You just might find them a nice complement or even in some cases a good-enough replacement for your present tools.
