Should I use Google Docs instead of Microsoft Office?

 

vs.

 

In a word, NO.

Try this:

1. Create a document in Google Docs.
2. Insert and populate a couple of rows of a table.
3. Try to move the contents of one row to another location in the table.

Ponder what that means.

This is just one example of why Google Docs isn’t a replacement for Office. It’s just not ready. Looking at the file organization methods in place for Google Docs is a less visceral, but much more important, way to see this.

If the question were “Should I use Google Docs” the answer is probably YES! For very simple documents and spreadsheets it is currently at or near the top of solutions for collaborating on documents. The model is without peer for shared document editing, in particular.

Microsoft’s implementation of Office web apps and Skydrive makes Office more functional in a group environment, but it still can’t do the real-time collaboration Google Docs provides. However, don’t mistake this one strength with overall capability. Google Docs, for nearly everyone, cannot take the place of Microsoft Office paired with local or cloud-based storage of documents.