Document Management Roll-up: Microsoft Fights for Public Email, Google Packing a Punch?

By David Roe (@druadh20) Jul 27, 2010

Google is the source of quite a lot of news this week particularly around rumours that it is packing a new punch, and the new competition between it and Microsoft for federal email. Meanwhile, ACS has put in a good show for Xerox in the recently released Q2 figures.

Microsoft, Google Fight for Email

Just when we thought it was going to get quiet for the month of August and we’d have to make up something to fill the news space, Microsoft (news, site) and Google start bashing each other again.

Well, not exactly bashing but certainly fighting, this time on the email front where both companies are already competing for contracts in the private and public sector to provide cloud-based email.

Over the past week, however, this has taken on a more competitive edge as it has emerged that both are competing to provide email services to the General Services Administration, the federal organization that oversees federal property and, more importantly for both companies, federal procurement.

This is now the six area in which the two companies are squaring-up, with online docs, mobile operating systems, and search amongst the other areas.

According to the Wall Street Journal Google Apps already meets GSA security requirements while Microsoft, which is used by most federal departments anyway, is close to doing the same.

While the actual numbers here are small — around 15,000 email users — what is far more significant is the ‘prestige’ factor as the GSA takes care of all federal procurement issues, including email.

If Google can manage to pull the email contract from under Microsoft’s feet, then it might be interpreted as a signal that not all email in federal agencies must by default be Microsoft.

What Kind of Punch Is Google Packing?

In the meantime, there was a new fission of excitement across the web this week as talk about the new Google Punch and what it might be did the usual rounds.

To be said first and foremost is that no one is standing by any of what they are saying and most of what is being said is speculative based on an icon for the service that appeared in an official Google Docs demo video.

The bottom line is that no one knows what it is, OK? However speculation has placed it as Google’s answer to Microsoft Publisher to it just being a placeholder for new versions of Docs, Spreadsheets or Presentations.

Again, no big deal, except that it may mean a new version of Google Docs is on the way, or even the first step towards integrating DocVerse, which Google bought in March and which enables users to collaborate directly on Microsoft Office documents.

The only thing that everyone seems to agree on is that something is happening as the video identified by the unofficial blog Google Operating System where the new icon appeared, seems to indicate. Check out the video yourself and watch this space for more news.