Google’s Cloud Connect Links Microsoft Office and GoogleDocs Together

Many of us at ProfHacker use GoogleDocs to collaborate with others on shared documents in our web browsers or to create and edit documents from our mobile devices.

After using GoogleDocs, however, working in Microsoft Office feels awkward and not very social, especially when you need to collaborate with others in real time. That’s where a new piece of software from Google comes into play. Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office allows you to get all of the benefits of Google Docs from within Microsoft Office. It appears to be quite similar to the OffiSync plugin that Mark wrote about back in December, but it’s completely free.

This plugin (currently Windows-only) allows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 users to edit GoogleDocs documents in the cloud from within Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. The plugin allows you to share, backup, and edit simultaneously with others who are also using the plugin with Office or who are using GoogleDocs in the cloud.

Here’s Google’s introductory video on Cloud Connect:

You can find out more information about the Google Cloud Connect plugin on the Google website.

How about you? Do you use Google Cloud Connect? Alternately, do you use some other method for keeping your MS Office work and your GoogleDocs work connected? Let us hear from you in the comments!

[Initial image via Google’s Cloud Connect website]