Mobile workers having cloud trouble

Smartphones and tablet computers are intended to work with cloud services. Microsoft recently announced that its upcoming Office 365 suite is aimed at mobile workers and Google recently added a Google Docs smartphone app. However, according to InfoWorld, mobile workers are having trouble with business cloud apps.

Writing for InfoWorld, Galen Gruman says current mobile access for business apps is quite limited. “IPhone and iPad users can download documents to the Preview app in iOS, then open them in an editing program like Apple Pages, Quickoffice, or Documents to Go, but they can't upload them back,” he wrote. SharePoint Online, also part of 365, has similar limitations.

The recent Google Docs update also has limits, wrote Gruman. “The updated Google Docs lets you edit raw text in iOS's mobile Safari, Android's mobile Chrome, and the BlackBerry WebKit browser, but with zero formatting control and only one paragraph at a time,” he wrote.

Despite these potential limits, mobile cloud apps show no signs of slowing growth. Freedom Telecare recently launched a new cloud app called Timesheet Mobile, which allows users to convert their phones into an employee work time and location tracker. Additionally, Google recently expanded Google Docs to include Microsoft Office, allowing access from mobile devices.