At a steady clip, Google has been transforming both the Chrome browser and the Android mobile operating system into platforms that can compete directly with Microsoft’s. Firing its latest salvo, in recognition of the fact that many enterprise users of Microsoft Office are also starting to use Android, Google has included Quickoffice with its latest version of the Android mobile operating system, version 4.4, called “KitKat.” QuickOffice mimics the functionality of Microsoft Office and has been allowing users of Google’s applications to edit Office documents and more.
What QuickOffice is letting Google do is similar to what Microsoft did with Windows and its Office suite of productivity applications over the years. Increasingly, Google is looking to bundle QuickOffice with not just operating systems but applications like Chrome, because through such bundling it can woo some users away from Microsoft Office. Office remains very dominant among productivity suites.
