Many people have asked about why they should use Google Web products over others. According to Ars Technica, this is explained as readers discover what it means to be free of vendor lock-in. The idea behind freedom with data is simple. If you want to export anything from one of the Google Apps to somewhere else, Google makes this simple.

The article goes on to explain how not locking users into a single application helps to ensure that Google does not get lazy with their development, which is a welcome thing to read from an end user’s perspective. So options like Google Docs mass export feature means that you are free to take the documents with you, even if that means importing them into alternative software solutions.