Google gets Groove-y with Spreadsheet

It’s not often that alpha releases of new software get written up in Tech Watch, let alone alpha versions of spreadsheet software, a category that reached its peak of innovation around the time Bill Clinton won his return trip to the Oval Office.

But all that’s old becomes new again when the company in question is Google and the application in question is a Web-based spreadsheet that many see as a challenge to Microsoft Office’s decade-old reign as king of personal productivity software.

Maybe that explains why last week’s unveiling of Google’s invitation-only, alpha version of Google Spreadsheet was covered, breathlessly, by no less than the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and nearly every other publication with an interest in technology.

Compared to what users have been enjoying for years with Microsoft’s Excel and IBM’s Lotus 1-2-3, Google’s new program doesn’t break much new ground. It supports multiple worksheets, auto-saving and the capability of importing data from CSV (comma separated value) files or Excel, including formulas, said product manager Jonathan Rochelle.

The product was developed at Google Labs using technology the company purchased with 2Web Technologies, a company that Rochelle used to head.

It offers on-the-fly access through the Internet, Web-based storage and editing, and Internet-based sharing and collaboration, with separate edit and read-only user roles, Rochelle said.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to work on your Google spreadsheets offline, which could be a problem for anyone who goes without an Internet connection from time to time. And, although two people can work on a spreadsheet simultaneously, Google doesn’t have any way to lock cells or worksheets yet, so it’s “last-one-in wins” with any changes, Rochelle said.

Google is limiting the spreadsheet alpha release to “invite only” members, as it did with Google Mail. The company will use the suggestions of its trial-user population to shape future development, rather than try to recreate Excel or 1-2-3 for the Web, Rochelle said.

In fact, despite the “David and Goliath” imagery of Google’s entry onto Microsoft turf, Rochelle is an avid Excel user and sees Google Spreadsheet as a complement, not a replacement for Excel.

But Microsoft should not take much comfort in those words, said Jon Oltsik of the Enterprise Strategy Group.

Office licenses are a big source of revenue for Microsoft. The advent of free, Web-based replacements from Google or other companies could pressure the Redmond, Washington, company to lower costs for consumers and enterprises, he said.

That will be particularly true in developing countries; Linux and Web-based software could be an attractive alternative to Windows and Office in immature, fast-growing IT markets

“Google’s not going to kill Office, but it could kill a lot of the profit in Office,” Oltsik said.