Technology definition
The two technologies offers online processing applications that can be utilized by disparate teams in different geographical locations. Google came up with Google apps which include Google docs for people who want to access office applications on the internet. Microsoft was reluctant in offering an online version of their office applications. Google came up with Google docs to offer office processing while someone is online. Comparing the two, Google docs synchronize well when changes are made to the applications. Although Microsoft online also has good synchronization capabilities, the Google apps is working better than Microsoft online. Google’s word processor is efficient, although it does not have indexing capability (Oishi, 2007).
Business applications
The two applications are used by businesses which have branches scattered. Many people can work on an application from a given location. This is because of the ability of the applications to synchronize. With many organizations going global, there is a need to have collaboration on office documents. This is possible with the use of Google docs or Microsoft online applications. It enables documents to be shared online. With this technology, it is possible to work on one document and see changes that a person has done on a given document. The two applications add value to businesses in that it enables workers and staff to collaborate. The saving process is improved and enhanced. This is because staff can not only share documents, but can work on one document. Another process that has been improved is that of saving. Staff are now able to save documents better. This is because both Microsoft online and Google docs enable automatic saving (Sultan, 2010).
Business/societal implications
With this technology, privacy is an issue. This is because documents are now stored by third-party entities. If the information systems of these entities are compromised, then the data and information will be compromised. The third entities in this case are Microsoft and Google.
Another implication with the use of this technology is that if there is a project that is being undertaken by a team, some people will wait for others to make their contributions and steal other people’s ideas. Google apps have some sort of security because these applications will be opened from a given email. This is where Google beats Microsoft. It is more secure than Microsoft (Sultan, 2010).
References
Oishi, L. (2007). Working Together: Google Apps Goes to School. Technology & Learning, 27(9), 46.
Sultan, N. (2010). Cloud computing for education: A new dawn?. International Journal of Information Management, 30(2), 109-116.
