The battle for the office of the 21st century continues

Comparison test: office 365 vs google apps

There is no doubt that these are the two main competitors in the arena of business applications based on cloud technology. In order to be able to compare two different types of cloud-based office application packages. When it is always observed that some will like the simplicity of Gmail and some will prefer the old, good and familiar Outlook. Some will prefer the PowerPoint presentation of the office while others will prefer the Slides, from Google. Therefore, the comparison mainly refers to the business aspect and the differences in adaptation to the organizational needs of the two companies that are so different from each other.

Many advantages are still found on Microsoft's side in the game of competition that has emerged in the last year between the two software giants in the cloud computing arena for businesses in Israel. But Google also brings up advantages that intensify the smaller your business is.

Total adoption of the cloud
Many businesses have already fully adopted cloud technology. Some are still testing, testing and some are still experimenting with it. For the latter, Google Apps is not possible. Google works in a "black and white" method and does not allow compromises or intermediate "gray" areas. But most organizations are not interested, nor can they always move to the cloud fully and "at once". And that's a problem. In fact, the main argument against Google is that it offers an incomplete enterprise solution, which includes too many problems and too little flexibility, which is essential for enterprises. And more detail about that:

Cloud is limited and a shame
From a simple comparison of the applications and the total features of the enterprise options, it appears that Google offers a narrower cloud experience at the end of the day, compared to Office 365 which includes Hebrew support, 24/7 and a human answer is available in the familiar local market. As a result, it is expected that some users will experience adjustment difficulties and a flexibility problem for the organization's needs. But according to Google's well-known method, which includes a collection of solutions for consumers based on basic needs, while requiring rapid adaptation to working habits in a familiar-new environment. In most cases, Google's environment is more dynamic than Microsoft's products, and from this also derive many advantages of meeting new needs, and this is an advantage that can be expressed in the long term of Google Apps' product efforts. The potential to be more flexible and faster in terms of work interfaces and updates, that's where Google's approach tends and there's nothing new here.

David Nichols, a director at Ernst & Young was quoted: "Currently, most companies have less than 30% of their systems in the cloud." In the long term, Nichols expects that cloud penetration in organizations will reach 70%, meaning widespread adoption of hybrid clouds. But still, businesses want their own pace without being forced to make a sharp and fast move. They want to keep their business information local and aren't ready to "let go" yet. And that is their right.

Hence the problem of the user experience in Google Apps, which turns out to be problematic in many cases. Similar to the shutdowns of the Google Apps for Teams, Google Listen, Google Video products for business demonstrations, new products and services are added, which after some time, are disabled according to one whim or another of the managers of the various divisions at Google. Consistency is the name of the game in the more conservative business culture and to these target audiences, Google has struggled to penetrate until the past year. Google, on the one hand, gets bad points for previously giving customers a week's notice for new features and canceling products with little or no warning. This unstable forecast does not allow businesses to plan in advance. Microsoft updates what is needed itself and provides a 12-month notice for significant updates, despite all the advantages we mentioned earlier and it is part of the "game" in the Google experience and many of the most enthusiastic users know how to accept this with love for the product and its constant upgrading.

In addition, there is insurance

Microsoft, beyond the customer interface approach that is adapted to their needs, provides its customers with flexibility in the form of a solid and known service agreement in advance, a planned work plan, the ability to choose personally between a pure cloud experience or a hybrid experience that combines cloud services with local IT infrastructures. Microsoft, for its part, guarantees financial backup when the availability of any of the Office 365 services falls below the uptime of % 99.9 and its service agreement covers every user and every component of the package.
The service level agreement (SLA) of Google Apps - does not guarantee the level of service necessary for most organizations and the readiness of the infrastructure should be read carefully. Google's SLA only covers some of the services it offers and does not cover unavailability issues. Moreover, Google Apps fails to provide the level of computing control that organizations rely on. Google Apps provides limited management tools that are mainly intended for small or micro businesses and does not produce the satisfactory answer for organizations with a complex geographical layout and large organizations.

To sum up, there is no doubt that this is a competition. But advantages of flexibility, understanding of customer needs, backup of mistakes, reliability and seniority combined in stability without changes occurring new to the controllers - all these are without a doubt, still, tremendous advantages that give Microsoft first place of honor when it comes to a business application package for the computer user of any kind.

Learn more about Cloud computing products for businesses, click on the product: Office 365, Cloud backup, Cloud mail server, Anti spam

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