Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office: Threat to Microsoft SharePoint?

In a blog post, Google has announced Cloud Connect, a plugin for Microsoft Office. In some ways, its shared/collaborative features go beyond what Microsoft itself officially offers with SharePoint Server. With this plugin, you can now share, backup and simultaneously edit Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents with co-workers without the need for sending attachments back and forth.

Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office is now available to download for all Google Apps domains. You need to ensure that Google Docs is an activated service in your Google Apps control panel. It also works with plain and simple Google/Gmail accounts. Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office supports Microsoft Office 2003, Office 2007, or Office 2010. This MS Office plugin is for Windows-based computers only, for now, Macs are not supported.

Here is a list of features:
- Simultaneous editing for Word, PowerPoint and Excel files when using Microsoft Office.
- Google Docs sharing URLs for each Microsoft Office file.
- Revision history for Microsoft Office files, stored in Google Docs.
- Offline editing with smart synchronization of offline changes.
- No Microsoft Office upgrade or SharePoint deployment required.

Security does seem to be on Google's mind, with a process laid out for approving and revoking access to services such as this.

This screenshot shows the Google Cloud Connect toolbar in MS Word 2007, an Office application that would otherwise have no support for collaborative editing.