Enterprise Nation

Cloud computing is a great resource for home based business owners. If you have to meet with a client, it's much easier to access important files, or share files for that matter. According to a study done by Pew Research, by 2020 most of us will have made the jump to working in the cloud.

One of the most popular cloud computing document sharing programmes is Google Docs, but Office 2010 might be giving Google a run for its money. Office 2010 will also come with a web based version (called Office Web) of its document programmes. "Office Web apps are designed explicitly to help consumers leverage the power of the cloud...while also not cannibalising sales of the client program," says JP Gownder of Forrester to InformationWeek.

Gowder goes on to say that, "while Google Docs may be more robust than Office Web, Google's offering pales when compared to the full, desktop version of Office. In some ways, the Office versus Google Docs debate doesn't merit a lot of consideration," said Gownder.

This may be true, but it does give a cheap alternative for business owners. Free services like Office Web and Google Docs can help you save money, without cutting down on effective documents. Any way to save money in this economy is worth a try.

It is wise to note that although Office Web is available for free, the intensions of Microsoft are not to have it replace the software based applications—where Google Docs is.

If you are in the b2b market, being able to share documents in the cloud could make sharing information a little easier—especially if the files are too large to send via e-mail. It might not be 2020 yet, but cloud computing seems to becoming the future of business document systems.

Shannon Suetos is an expert writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as telephone systems & VoIP service at Resource Nation.

Photo credit: Kevin