Zoho Takes Google Battle to New Level with Zoho Docs

Google Docs, be aware. Zoho, a company focusing on creating web-based productivity tools, announced the release of Zoho Docs, a web-based document management and repository application that integrates content from various other Zoho applications.

The New Zoho Docs

Zoho Docs brings together many of Zoho's existing applications like Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show, Zoho Accounts, Zoho Chat and more into a single package. If this sounds something like Google Docs -- well, it is very similar. However, Zoho is bringing some serious competition to Google Docs by offering what looks to be a more organized interface and tighter integration between various applications.

The Zoho Docs Interface
Users are allowed to upload and manage various types of documents (e.g. PDF and ZIP files) on Zoho. These files can be viewed, edited, shared and collaborated on amongst contacts within Zoho. There are also other useful features, such as the ability to download separate versions of documents with the built-in document versioning capability. Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist, says “When users are looking for a file... they just want the information to be readily available. Zoho Docs fosters this notion of context-based work by bringing all of a user’s content to a single place without having to go to any individual application.”

Welcome Additions

Zoho users will instantly appreciate the new document management features of Zoho Docs. This might also convince some of Google Docs users to make a switch. The interface does offer a familiar (and potentially better) hierarchical view, which users may find more appealing than that of Google Docs. Although Google already has a similar system in place, the Zoho developments of a web-based office suite heat up the competition. Zoho is sure to come out with plenty more new interesting developments as time goes on, and the company is inviting users of Google and Yahoo to tag along.