Google buys document editing company DocVerse, takes aim at Microsoft

The battle between internet giant Google and Microsoft shows no signs of ending soon, with Google announcing it has acquired DocVerse, a company founded by a group of Microsoft veterans that offers real-time editing and sharing of Office documents.

Google announced the acquisition in a blog post, saying it recognised the future of apps belongs online and that DocVerse is an easy addition to its Google Docs program, which allows users to store and edit a variety of documents online, including Microsoft Office formats.

“DocVerse is a small, nimble team of talented developers who share our vision, and they’ve enabled true collaboration right within Microsoft Office,” Google Apps product manager Jonathan Rochelle wrote.

“With DocVerse, people can begin to experience some of the benefits of web-based collaboration using the traditional Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop applications.”

No price has been given for the acquisition, but tech blog TechCrunch has quoted an unnamed source saying the deal was done for about $US25 million.

DocVerse was founded by former Microsoft employees Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui in 2007, who become frustrated with having to email documents back-and-forth with constant editing. The company reportedly raised $US1.3 million in 2008 from a number of investors including Harrison Metal Capital, Naval Ravikant and Baseline Ventures.

Sinha and Deneui said in a statement its first step will be to “create a bridge between Microsoft Office and Google Apps”.

The acquisition comes in the midst of a heated battle between the two giants, with Microsoft attempting to take Google on in its own game in the online apps and search markets.

Last year, Google introduced a heavy campaign for its online apps suite known as Google Docs, which is designed for uploading and editing documents. The company targeted the apps at businesses, suggesting they move into the cloud to save money on expensive word processing software.

Following this campaign, Microsoft announced it would introduce its own cloud-based apps services, in conjunction with the release of Office 2010 later this year.

Additionally, last week Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in a speech the company was moving in a big way towards cloud computing – something Google has been focusing on for years.

The acquisition of DocVerse is the latest move in this battle, and will allow Google to boost its applications with a number of new features to rival the upcoming Office apps suite. Additionally, like most other companies acquired by Google, the significant talent and experience in DocVerse’s founders will provide the internet giant with an edge.

The move also comes as Microsoft is attempting to play catch-up with its Bing search engine. Analytics firm ComScore revealed in December that while Bing has managed to gain some ground, it only holds about 10% of the market compared to Google’s 65%.