MS Office users can now connect to the Google Cloud

    Welcome to Google's Cloud Connect, Microsoft Office users.

    With its purchase of DocVerse in March, Google (GOOG) obviously had the intentions of integrating Microsoft Office Applications into its Google Apps Cloud. Today, Docverse has turned into Google Cloud Connect.

    With the plug-in, Office users can now simultaneously edit and store their documents in the Apps Cloud space that Google provides to businesses and schools.

    Microsoft (MSFT) has similar functionality with its Live Office 2010 applications, but Google gives businesses hesitant to update to Office 2010 a way to do much of the same Cloud collaboration and storage without paying a hefty new Office licensing fee. Cloud Connect works in Office 2003 and 2007 as well, which Microsoft doesn't support.

    Google sees Cloud connect as a gateway app that will allow users to slowly make the transition to Apps without immediately losing all of their Office functionality.

    The requirements for using Google's Cloud Connect are:

    • Windows XP with .NET Framework 2.0, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.

    • Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007, or Microsoft Office 2010

    Update: The Cloud Connect page just went live.

    An example of the Cloud Synching dialogue: