Comparison of Online Office Suites

By Lisa L. MartinEDIT 5395 Spring 2011

Prepared for Dr. Jonphil CheonTexas Tech University

Google Docswww.docs.google.com

Google Docs is an online office suite offering the classic three productivity applications - word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor.

ProsAlso offers other Web-based productivity apps - Gmail &

Google Calendar. Also offers Gears, a software platform that works as a

browser extension, to let you take your documents offline, work on them while you're disconnected, and then sync your changes automatically when you reconnect.

Gadgets, a plug-in that let it do fancier things with graphics Easy to use user interfacePresents chronological view of documentsMaintains version history of each documentCan import documents via e-mail or the WebDocument are easy to embed in blogs and Web sitesAllows you to see who else is editing the document in real

time

ConsLacks advanced featuresFails to preserve most Word, Excel, and

PowerPoint formattingPrinting is unreliableWord processing and Spreadsheet offer

limited features

Zohowww.zoho.com

Zoho offers a comprehensive suite of office and productiviety applications (22 to date) ranging from CRM to Mail, Office Suite, Project Management, Invoicing, Web conferencing and more. Some are free and some are not.

ProsCan switch between apps without logging off.Has 22 applications which provides a few advanced

features such as mail merge, pivot tables, chartsCan insert HTML and CSS directly from Web pagesBlog posting via MetaWebLog and Blogger APIsZoho Writer's support for Google's GearsZoho Writer allow you to see who else is editing

the document in real time which offers a chat, allowing you to either broadcast messages to all other users, or click on an individual in the Collaborators list and open a private chat window.

ConsDoes not offer file organizer views that let

you organize your files into folders and see them all in one place.

Write and Sheet offer few featuresZoho does not let you cut and paste slides

between presentations.

Thinkfreehttp://www.thinkfree.com

Thinkfree is an online free office suite which offers 2 products:•An online, web-based office suite•A Microsoft Office-compatible suite for the desktop. Users can synchronize data between the web service and their desktops via the SyncTool ThinkFree Manager.

Pros1. 1 GB of free space storageThinkFree office for desktop is compatible with Microsoft®

Office. Includes: ThinkFree Write (word processing), ThinkFree Calc

(spreadsheet), & ThinkFree Show (presentation). Interface is easy to learn Supports multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac and

Linux.Documents can be saved directly on the online secure storage. ThinkFree Manager ( Sync Tool ) handles updating the latest file

information. Powerful HTML editor - Web Word “Note” is ideal blogging. Sharing Documents – can email the link to the file located on the

ThinkFree server or synced folder on your desktop using your own email application.

Mobile Access – Android, Windows Mobile, & IPhone

ConsPerformance Issues - need to download

Java code almost every time a new document type was opened

Font Rendering - Large characters can look a little ragged, and blocks of smaller type lack the smoothness and contrast that the other apps show

Presenter has a presentation limit size of 10MB.

Comparison Google Docs Zoho Thinkfree

Cost Free; $50 per user per year with Google Apps Premier Edition

Free for 1GB; $3 per user per month for 5GB with Zoho Docs; other business subscriptions available

Free

Web Browser Supports

Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, & Safari

Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, & Safari

Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, & Safari

Pros • Easy to use interface• Presents

chronological view of documents

• Maintains version history of each document

• Can import documents via e-mail or the Web

• Docs are easy to embed in blogs and Web sites

• 22 business & office applications

• Can insert HTML and CSS directly from Web pages

• Blog posting via Meta WebLog & Blogger APIs

• 1. 1 GB of free space storage

• ThinkFree office for desktop is compatible with Microsoft® Office.

• Supports multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac and Linux.

• Documents can be saved directly on the online secure storage.

Cons • Lacking in advanced features

• Does not preserve MS Office formatting

• Printing is unreliable

• Interface is inconsistent across apps

• Light on sophisticated features

• Does not preserve MS Office formatting but a little better than Google Docs

• Printing is unreliable

• Performance Issues • Font Rendering Issues

And the Winner Is …….?As far as word processing go, Google Docs is the overall

winner with its leaner, cleaner user interface and unified file management.

As far as spreadsheets go, Zoho Sheet is the overall winner with the best feature set and its integration of chat and publish functions shows why Web-based applications are important.

As far as presentations, Zoho Show is the overall winner with a wide variety of templates and clip art makes it the most useful of the three apps and its integration with Zoho Meeting gives you a new unique presentation tool.

As far as Internet connectivity, Google Docs provides the most Internet connectivity with good support for mobile.

As far as applications offered, Zoho is the overall winner with a wide variety of application for office and business .