Signaling an intent to compete with giants in the collaboration software space, Google on Thursday is introducing an API to extend the Google Sites collaborative content development tool, featuring a capability to migrate files from workspace applications such as Microsoft SharePoint and Lotus Notes to Sites.
One application already built using the Google Sites API is SharePoint Move for Google Apps, developed by LTech for migrating data and content from SharePoint to Sites. Google Sites [1] is a free application for building and sharing Web sites; it is described by Google [2] as a collaborative content creation tool to upload file attachments, information other Google applications such as Google Docs, and free-form content.
[ Also on InfoWorld: "An early look at SharePoint 2010 [3]." ]
Migration of Notes and SharePoint files and content was one of several business-use cases presented for the API. Asked if Google, with its API, plans to compete with SharePoint and Lotus Notes in the collaboration space, a Google official sidestepped the question.
via infoworld.com
Google Apps enterprise users will be interested in the new Google APIs for collaboration. This toolset can be used to migrate Sharepoint and Notes applications to Google Apps.
It can also be used to export and import Google sites pages for offline automated tasks.
This is good news for companies like Cloud Sherpas, who are writing toolsets and custom applications for companies who have moved to Google Apps.