Built on Collaboration

In a nutshell, Google plans to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection. A person's files and operating system would be held on Google's servers and accessed via the web.

Thinking in terms of the construction and engineering industries, my initial reaction is that this is yet another resounding endorsement of the Software as a Service/Cloud Computing model (as favored by the leading collaboration vendors), and another nail in the coffin of installed, self-hosted software.

Although the Guardian's title will draw in readers, its message may be somewhat premature. Until internet connections become ubiquitous, the PC will not die. There are still going to be situations when people need files offline (like on a plane). Besides, a PC needs a hard drive and an operating system of some sort, so even if people use something like GDrive, it will not mean that PCs are dead - they will just have less installed software (admittedly the headline "Google plans to reduce the amount of installed software on PCs" wouldn't quite pack the same punch).

In the short term, people may use systems like GDrive for backups or places to share or send information. On the (unfortunate, and decreasing number of) construction projects that don't use a specialized project collaboration tool, GDrive might allow team members to access files whenever they need them and from wherever they are located. But - like Microsoft's SharePoint product - this is of necessity a mass-market application without the industry-specific capabilities that are demanded on construction projects.

As with Google Docs, I don't see it being a competitor to construction collaboration tools. But it will be interesting to see how GDrive - if and when it appears - is adopted in the wider computing community.