Document Management Roll-up: Office Web Apps Is Out, HP Connects Printers to the Cloud

There has been a lot of talk about Microsoft Web Apps in recent months and a lot of discussion about how it and Google Docs are going to square up. Meanwhile, HP follows Dell as the latest company to add new document management capabilities to a new set of printers.

Web Apps Released for Selected Regions

Finally, Microsoft‘s (news, site) Office Web Apps have been released. While the roll-out is not complete — a full international roll-out to come soon — users in the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK can now access browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote — at office.live.com. All you need is a Microsoft Live ID.

Over the last few months, Microsoft has been incorporating feedback from users involved in the Office Web Apps Technical Preview in the run-up to the general release of Office 2010 due next week.

Generally speaking, there hasn’t been a lot said as to whether the new Web Apps are good, bad or indifferent, but no doubt that is set to change over the week as people start uploading their docs onto Skydrive.

So here’s some of the functionality we know about so far.

• Drag And Drop: You can drag files directly from your desktop into a web browser and edit them there. Documents that have been shared with you, or documents that you have been working on recently can be easily accessed in ‘recent documents’.
• Real time work: With co-authoring in Excel and OneNote Web Apps, you can work with others at the same time and never be locked out of a document when someone else is working on it.
• Smartphone Access: Word and PowerPoint documents can be accessed on SmartPhones without any additional software by entering Office.Live.com on your Smartphone.
• Instant messaging: Send and receive instant messages using Messenger on the web, whether or not Messenger is installed on your computer.
• Version history: Enables you to go back to older edits of your documents.
• Enhanced search: Search across all documents and those shared with you by others.

It’s too early to know whether this is going to steal some of the Google Docs thunder, but watch and wait and it should become clear very quickly.

HP Takes Printers to the Cloud

There has been quite a bit of movement on the integrated printer and document management front in recent weeks. Only last week, in fact, Dell (news, site) announced it was taking to the document management market by adding document management functionality to its printers.

This week, HP (news, site) has added a web connection and email address to its printers with the new ePrint platform. It adds Google cloud capabilities to web connected printers so that users will be able to print anything anywhere and from anywhere.

The new solution enables ePrint connected printers to access files in the cloud through Google Docs, Google Photos and Google calendar and print those files across an international network of printers. Features include:

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Tags: business process management, cloud computing, collaboration, compliance, dell, document capture, document managegment, email, email archiving, google, knowledge management, microsoft, mro corp, office 2010, records management, skydrive, streamline health, workflow

There has been a lot of talk about Microsoft Web Apps in recent months and a lot of discussion about how it and Google Docs are going to square up. Meanwhile, HP follows Dell as the latest company to add new document management capabilities to a new set of printers.

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