Google Apps

Here's what the problem with Google Apps is:

Like it or not, the internet just can't be trusted - and therefore neither can Google Apps. If you've got deadlines to meet and the only copy of your work is stored on the Google servers, then you're putting your life in the hands of Google, your ISP and every other link in the chain between you and your precious documents.

Google claims more than 100,000 small to medium enterprises have replaced Microsoft Office with Google Apps, along with big names such as GE, Procter & Gamble, Prudential and Loreal. These big companies are paying for the Premier Edition of Google Apps, which promises 99.9 per cent uptime - the equivalent of being down for a total of almost nine hours in a year. Still, Google can't make that promise for your ISP and your office network. If they both offer 99.9 as well then suddenly your overall downtime has blown out to more than a day - more if your ISP can't even offer that level of reliability.

Google Apps is a great idea, but it's crying out for a way to synchronise documents between the online storage space and your desktop. This would mean you've automatically got the latest versions wherever you go, but a backup to call upon if your access is down.

Actually, I think there's an even larger problem. You have to be online to use them. That means that when you're travelling and want to do some work, inbetween wifi spots and so on, that you can't.