I'm considering Google Apps and Zoho Business for my small business. We currently use only Microsoft products (Office, Exchange), and I find them to be too costly in terms of initial buy-in and ongoing maintenance. Plus, they stink at collaberation. I'm leaning toward Google Apps because of the stability of a company like the big G. But I really wish they offered wiki, database and CRM solutions like Zoho does. I also like the features of Zoho's core applications, but I don't think Zoho is going to exist in two years. Has anyone successfully used Zoho Creator and CRM solutions with Google Apps?

bryansells

I use GoogleDocs for a few things that are shared, but for the bulk of stuff I want mobile access to I use the portable version of Open Office on my thumbdrive.

mcnee

Why is there no choice for both?

I use GCal, Reader, Gmail, Docs, but LOVE Zoho Creator for my lightweight database needs.

rockstarlibrarian

I always liked google docs, but when I tried the spreadsheet with a pre-made spreadsheet in open office, it goofed up the spreadsheet real bad, it was a timesheet where you would enter 12:00 PM and it would add up all the hours and stuff you worked, and then gave you an amount for your paycheck, but if I would enter a time it would pop back some oddball time; 5:30 PM = 5:16 AM ect. ect. so I still use desktop for my spreadsheets.

Swizzler121

@ ROBND: Actually, if I want something feature-rich, I'll look offline; in that situation I probably want more specific ability to customize and choose my applications, which you really can't find online yet. For me and for most people I've spoken with you just want a lean, lightweight application to access online. If Gmail tried to be Outlook it'd be too slow so I'd just use Outlook. Same with Google/Zoho and Word/OO.o.

Kafka

I wish the formatting on Google Writer would improve, but their collaboration features are amazing. In fact, I even used it when it was Writely before I ever knew Google would buy them.

Having two people edit something at once and having revision history is astounding. I write down the 'raw' stuff into Google when I'm writing a play or something, then migrate it to OpenOffice and format it all pretty. In fact, sometimes I kinda of like that Google Docs is light on the formatting, so that I can focus on my writing and not nit-pick over formats as I go (which I'm prone to doing.)

That being said, I should say that I haven't tried zoho writer all that much, so I don't know if the collaboration features are as good as Google's.

tommertron

Google all the way :)
I've just found out that Gmail's storage is increased to 4,2 Gb :) . Love google
nXqd

Nxqd3051990

Between Google and Zoho, I chose both!
GMail, GReader, GCal, ...
but Zoho Creator, Zoho DB and I'm in the process of migrating to Zoho Sheets.

fsmontenegro

Few things, first, everything is on the net. Your computer is on a network and can be hacked, Google's servers are probably more secure but also more likely to be hacked. My home network is as down as often as the power is out, which is rarely and either way I can't access my documents.
Second, I always wondered why Google bought Writely and not Zoho I personally have always thought Zoho was a better product in terms of depth and features. Everything being the same I would rather use Zoho (think free takes to long to load and is often more than I need but a top notch offering) Zoho has the feature I use most often and Docs.Google, not only has a difficult name to write or talk about but it's feature lite and the spreadsheets are slow.

MEoip

The majority of my writing is mathematical, so I usually am using a tex editor on my own laptop. As I start writing more grant proposals, I may use an online editor to send drafts to colleagues more easily, but I will certainly tex the final product.

For the most part, I use Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Reader. I will give Google Docs credit for making collaborative wedding planning a lot easier! The spreadsheet was a huge time saver (once I trained my parents to use it). I still keep some addresses in a Google Spreadsheet, but that's about it.

I'm curious to check out Zoho office. I do like Google, but I also like to see Google's competitors doing well, too.

virtualcourtney

I hope that this "put everything online" is just a passing obsession. It continously raise demands for more and more server capacity, network traffic, not to mention that why anyone should store any personal or proprietary information "somewhere". Notetaking on the net... and the pencil-makers become bankrupt :)
I would rather have a good PDA or a subnotebook and keep everything even closer.
Yes, sometimes these net-apps might be useful; if I had to use one of these, I would choose Zoho.
I wonder whether anyone writes his thesis on GDocs just because its coolness factor?

dekoninck

Zoho and ThinkFree both out-perform Google Docs in terms of features. I use many of Google's other services on a daily basis, but Docs is simply too wimpy at this time. The word processor, in particular, is horrible at processing any document with a hint of special formatting.

My main question on this matter and the recent LH Yahoo! mail vs. Gmail comparison is: why does Google, with all of its wealth and resources, have such skimpy offerings? I think it makes them look bad that there are so many blogs and YouTube videos of their employees screwing around and having fun while their users are offered such peanuts.

In all the time spent making the Gmail video, they could have offered more features. I am starting to wonder if Google has grown so powerful that it is becoming like Microsoft (i.e., thinking it can do whatever it wants).

robnd

i have to use Zoho because most of the google stuff is banned at my school!

christophski

Hee Hee, You could have used Zoho's Poll (polls.zoho.com) to create that article-ending poll of yours. :-)

I don't remember seeing a competing product on that feature, from Google.

Rajendran.
ToonDude from www.jambav.com

rajendran

So what about Calendar apps, and which apps are better and for what reasons?

And last time I looked some of the Google stuff wasn't part of the Docs' Suite...

graham.reeds

Zoho looks a lot more powerful then google's documents, the only thing that google has superior imo is the notes. I've actually used google notes for taking notes in class and it allows for much quicker entry. Zoho is definitely much more powerful but for simple text it doesn't work all that great.

I sort of wish i had a need to use an online office suite so I could really use zoho.

Swimming_Bird

Newly lauched Springnote is far better than Google Docs or Zoho Writer.

[springnote.com]

Some features about Springnote here
1. intuitive WYSIWYG editor
2. OpenID authentication & email invitation
3. supports web standards such as XHTML
4. unlimited text storage and 2 GB file storage
5. compatible with txt, doc, html, and other files
6. publishing on blogs
7. collaboration
8. Open API for extension
9. very nice ready-made templates

just give it a try, and you won't get disappointed.

hyunokjoo

@skippybosco: D'oh! I thought of that, too, then neglected to mention it. Thanks for reminding me!

voyagerfan5761

Granted not near the functionality of Zoho, but Google does have GoogleBase (base.google.com) which offers some database functionality..

skippybosco

Since my "office work" is centered around Gmail--and has been for some years, I use the other Google stuff as well. Google's apps just keep improving. I use Google Notebook now for my To Do lists since I don't care much for calendar integration (though it will be interesting to see how the [hopefully] forthcoming Gcal Task List functions); only a year ago it wouldn't have been useful for such. The last thing I want is "feature overload" (aka bloat), so I appreciate their simple effectiveness.

GlennA

Ive been having some of our clients use Zoho CRM for a while, and its awesome. A lot of our customers are pretty small firms, and they rarely need more than 3 users, so its a free hosted CRM solution.

doshiamit

I only recently started using Google Docs since I gave my first laptop to my wife and now having bought my own laptop it's a hassle to again go through the installation steps for MSOffice or OpenOffice.

With web-based apps I get the same apps/docs whenever and wherever I am. Same goes to digital photos I have uploaded most of mine to picasa so I won't have to worry about my digicam being lost/stolen/broken along with my photos.

Now if Google would only give me my IMAP...

BlackBeard

I've been using Google Docs to write assignments for school. For the most part, it works quite well, though a few features leave something to be desired. Import from Word docs isn't always perfect, and complex Word formatting is totally hosed in Docs (most notably absolutely positioned drawings/space-alignments and per-cell table borders). I'd also like to see margins added, and I see that Zoho has it already, but Google's a known quantity, and it's one sign-in. I do have a Zoho account that I can use, though, if I want.

I actually have a secret wish that Google will buy Zoho and integrate their advanced features into Google Docs...

voyagerfan5761

i've been using zoho exclusively for a while now, more functions than google, and its easier to save stuff to your computer and i don't really have a problem with integrating it with my gmail or my desktop. but i guess it just feels better to me.

BackDoorAngel

I still have a problem with putting proprietary information under somebody else's control. Especially when every time some fascist in the Bush administration says "Jump", the communications industry is three feet off the ground by the time they say, "Yessir!"

Counterglow

I like ThinkFree online as a web 2.0 office suite. But most of the time I use Office on my desktop anyways.

Dooga

I prefer Zoho in most areas, but since I use Google products so often, I use Google stuff fairly often. I really wish Google would support more file formats, though. I love that Zoho can handle OpenOffice text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

forpeterssake

I prefer Zoho, but it has no right to left language support, which is essential for me. Google (sort of) has it. I used to be able to set the text and page settings, but right now I can only set the page settings, as the text settings no longer show up in my documents. Better than nothing I suppose, but it keeps me offline.

dancingemu

@dekoninck: Unfortunately, coolness has little to do with completing a thesis or dissertation, otherwise, I'd be done:) I've adopted the Google "Office Suite" as I embark on writing my dissertation for two reasons:
1. iGoogle: i can set aside a dedicated workspace by project. For example, I have a dedicated gmail account for document storage, calendar for due dates and timelines, notebook for notes organized by author and title, and docs for general word processing. All on one page and not distractions. Add an alarm clock and I've got a distraction free, dissertation-centric workspace. iGoogle was the sealed the deal for me when I was deciding how to go about finishing this (for me) massive project.
2. I work all over the place--laptop, home desktop, office desktop, libraries, computer labs. The server-side offering allow access wherever I am--no overwrites, redundancies or grumbling because I left that ONE KEY DOCUMENT! at home.

Finally, I use LYX for document processing, so I don't do any formatting in Google Docs at all. I just cut and paste the finished product into LYX for professional looking output.

urbanenaif

I love zoho but unfortunately had 2 bad experiences with it. Namely, it didn't save. I'm an avid saver and the first time it didn't save I was sure I pressed the save button. However, I "could" have accidentally not saved it. However the second time I had a go was just this week, I definitely pressed save as I was trying something out and when I went back into notebook, nothing was there. These were both to do with notebook.
NOT GOOD.

pobox90210

I totally agree, DEKONINCK. I remember when it was cool to have this stuff on your own desktop instead of having to use the mainframe. Now it seems to have switched around. I really don't understand the attraction outside of collaboration or if you don't have your own computer, because there are free programs that pretty much encompass everything the online programs cover; some of the online programs aren't free either. I also can't help but think all the folks who depend on these online programs must live in a calmer climate than I do; I lost internet access the night before last for several hours due to a 2-day rain. And that's nothing; I've lost internet access for over 24 hours (once it was 3 days) because of the *real* storms we get down here in KY.

mistshadow2k4

I teach 50 7th graders who just completed a 3 way shootout between Zoho, Thinkfree, and Google Docs. We rated ease of use, aesthetics, and features. Google Docs came out on top - 4.46 overall (out of 5). Zoho received a 4.11. Thinkfree a 3.94. I tossed my hat in with Zoho.

pwrserge

Until Google fixes its margins and formatting support, zoho for me. Actually, I, much like many here, prefer an offline editor, but is I collaborate or work on something while I'm at work it's Zoho.

stinkytaco