In a blog post, Google says it decided to buy QuickOffice because it has an established track record of enabling interoperability of popular file formats. One of QuickOffice's most powerful features is its ability to open and create documents in a number of formats, especially Microsoft Office apps, and making them accessible from all kinds of devices via the cloud.
Google says it's going to bring QuickOffice's "powerful technology" to Google Apps. It was probably also attracted to the service's strong user base -- the company's website says its software is installed on more than 300 million devices in more than 180 countries.
We're big fans of QuickOffice -- especially on the iPad -- and it's one of the best apps in its class that allows users to edit and create documents created for Microsoft Office or Google Docs.
"Quickoffice has a strong base of users," wrote Google's engineering director, Alan Warren, "and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience."
Alan Masarek, the CEO of QuickOffice, mirrored Warren's enthusiasm.
"We are ushering in a new chapter with Google," he wrote on the
The but puts Google in a better position to engage with mobile enterprise customers, many of which are using QuickOffice already. The Pro versions of the company's software have features like encryption and a "Saveback" API that enables users to securely edit documents.
By integrating more business-friendly abilities into Google Apps, Google may blunt some of the criticism from the likes of Microsoft, which targeted Google's free document software in a recent ad entitled "Googlighting."