It would appear Google is becoming intimidated after reports surfaced that Microsoft has plans to bring its office productivity applications to iOS, Android, and Windows-based tablets. On Tuesday, Google announced its acquisition of Quickoffice, a company well known for its Quickoffice suit that allows users to work on Microsoft office documents on smartphone and tablet devices.

According to Allan Warren, Google's Engineer Director:

"Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite."

CEO and co-founder of Quickoffice, Alan Masarek, seem all too happy about the acquisition. In a statement, Masarek said, "By combining the magic of Google's intuitive solutions with Quickoffice's powerful products, our shared vision for anytime, anywhere productivity can only grow."

However, we are skeptic how this move by Google would benefit the company. Google has Google Docs, but despite it being web based, we are certain Google is able to make it available offline. So why does the company needs Quickoffice again? This is puzzling. However, come to think of it, maybe Google doesn't have the time to come up with a powerful mobile offering like Quickoffice since Microsoft Office for tablet devices is expected to be available by November this year.

Without a strong alternative to compete with Microsoft Office, Google would be setting itself up for a potential suicide in this space. Google Docs is good, but it could never hold a handle against Microsoft Office and the company knows this. This could get nasty here if Microsoft allows its Office for tablets application to synchronize documents with SkyDrive. Such a move would surely put Google in a bind, one it doesn't want to be in.