INNOBLOG

We write about Google a lot on this blog, and for good reason (no, we don?t own shares of the stock ? at least I don?t?but many of us use gmail and desktop and talk and so on). To keep it fresh I?ll keep this one quick. The New York Times reports this morning that Google is releasing a beta version of a spreadsheet program that will compete with Microsoft Excel. Unsurprisingly, they are attacking a niche that has great disruptive potential. The program is intended to facilitate the upkeep and sharing of lists and simple functions. It won?t have the same sheer computing chops as Excel (no macros, for example) but will compete in other ways that figure to appeal to a broad base of users ? it will be easy to use, convenient to access (free on the Internet!), and will facilitate real-time collaboration (up to ten people will be able to work on a spreadsheet at once). Google understands and sees opportunity in the fact that few, if any, take full advantage of Excel?s famed and feared functionality and that many people use Excel as a compensating behavior ? the Times cites youth soccer coaches using it for manual databasing of their team roster, I?ve known people who make chore lists in Excel, etc. If successful, Spreadsheet will make it easier for people to accomplish mundane tasks in their lives (Jobs to be Done, in Disruptive Innovation parlance) and may well become indispensable to many. The Times says it best: ?The spreadsheet service is another step in Google's steady march toward creating its own computing universe that is an alternative to desktop PC software now dominated by Microsoft.? Google is bringing simple databasing down to the masses; the disruption of Microsoft continues. See "Google Takes Aim at Excel," The New York Times, 6/6/06 Sign up for a test drive: http://www.google.com/googlespreadsheets/try_out.html