Unless you've been under a rock lately, you've probably heard about Google in the news. The bigger you are, the better target you make, I suppose. Or, the bigger you are, the more people notice what you do.
Recently, Google made two announcements that make me stop and think. I believe what they're talking about will change the face of business for many entrepreneurs.
The first announcement was about gDrive, which is essentially an online hard drive. That way, instead of storing your files, pictures, video, etc. on our computer at home, you only need a basic CPU and an Internet connection because all of your files will be stored online. There's plenty of debate over whether this will actually happen (and privacy pundits will balk at the idea of keeping your stuff in the ether) but I think Google's multi-billion dollar war chest will allow it to create one if it wants. It's still in the future.
Another news clip has Google building something exciting in the present. They recently purchased a program called Writely www.writely.com which is a web-based word processor. (Think Word, but online). You can create, store, and share documents anywhere.
As an entrepreneur, I'm excited about that possibility. I do a little traveling in my business but I know small business owners who travel to stay in business! An online word processor helps them work without using up a lot of laptop memory. What's more, you don't have to worry about compatibility when you switch from one computer to another: as long as you have a screen and a standard English or “QWERTY” keyboard, you're ready to go.
I think Google is considering its future as a search provider and it's realizing that it has the capability to be so much more, so it's looking to create an online office which will make business accessible to anyone, anywhere.
