Our feature presentation
In April we announced that we were working to bring presentations to Google Docs. (Astute readers may recall learning about this even earlier, which caused a bit of excitement around here.) And today we're unveiling the new Google Docs presentations feature …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google set the expectation in April that presentations would join Google Docs, a move framed at the time as encroaching on PowerPoint’s territory. The September launch turns that stated plan into a product capability and broadens Docs beyond its existing document and spreadsheet tools.
The same-day pickup across technology and business outlets shows the release was read as part of the contest over office-productivity software, rather than as an isolated feature update.
First-order effects
- Google Docs users gain a browser-based presentation option, while Google can position Docs as a more complete productivity suite.
- Microsoft PowerPoint faces a more direct web-based alternative from Google in the presentation category.
Second-order effects
- Google’s document, spreadsheet, and presentation tools can be evaluated together by prospective users, shifting competition from individual applications toward suite completeness.
- Office-software rivals must answer a product offer that combines multiple core productivity formats under Google Docs rather than competing only in documents or spreadsheets.
Third-order effects
- The launch points toward productivity software competing on integrated, web-delivered suites rather than desktop applications sold as separate categories, provided Google continues closing feature gaps across the suite.
The trend: Google Docs’ presentation launch is one step in the expansion of web-based tools into the full office-productivity suite.