The thought of a perfect online database is very fascinating. To be specific the word "online" in an online database encapsulates those little elements that people like us are missing every day.
It is in this regard that we are beginning to believe Google Docs is probably morphing into the online database tool that we are looking for. It's got the spreadsheet thing going with online forms, sharing and, most importantly, limited security along with the added ability to make complex calculations. The area that it lacks in partially is loaded charts & visualization rules interface – a matter of time, I guess.
While user expectations from Google Docs will always be high, they seem to be missing one little aspect of the database game today - "the ability to crack the database structure" in the docs interface. What we mean is that while the Excel like structure is good for adhoc incremental data growth, it fails to allow the general user to take advantage of a structured database in much simpler ways.
An equivalent of '=' symbol that revolutionized Microsoft Excel as a business tool is missing in Google docs world to establish it as a online database. I wonder whether they are planning to attempt something as nontrivial as this. And what if they do? How are they planning to setup the value proposition - Incremental data versus setting up a Structured Database isn't the same thing right? We don't think it's only a linked field that could do the trick - maybe.
Personally curious to know your views about Google Docs as the hottest contender for Microsoft Excel / Office365 as the online database. Is it just perception that anything that looks like spreadsheet is not a database that Google is fighting against? Or, do we need something else in our online database app than what Docs and other online spreadsheets offer today.
Your take ...?
