For the past few months, I’ve had clients ask me what the difference is between Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps? Which is better? Which is cheaper? And which is most efficient?
Which One is the Best?
Although Google is doing very well for itself as a search engine and online advertising giant, there are still many things that the corporation lacks in terms of business solutions. Microsoft on the other hand has dedicated its entire career developing, customizing and improving its solutions so that companies can stay ahead of the competition – this is one of the reasons why I consider Microsoft Office 365 to be most efficient.
Microsoft Office 365
For starters, Microsoft Office 365 focuses on business productivity and offers a wide range of plans to fully cater to clients’ unique business needs. Companies can mix different Office 365 plans to make them fit into their business.
Google Apps
Google Apps offers a narrow approach. It promotes services like Google+ Hangouts that aren’t included in its service level agreement and does not offer support for business intelligence or enterprise content management. Customers have to use third-party providers to make up for the services Google doesn’t offer.
Secondly, with Google, moving to the cloud is an all-or-nothing option since the corporation delivers all of its solutions online; therefore, customers have no choice but to move to the cloud from the get-go. This limits the options to pick and choose the services customers need. Microsoft Office 365 on the other hand, allows companies to move to the cloud at their own pace with minimal disruption to their IT environment. Not only this, but the solution also includes desktop versions for those companies not looking to move to the cloud.
Final Thoughts
Considered an industry leader in cloud services, Microsoft is always striving to maintain trust with its customers. This is why Microsoft’s policy centers on protecting data and only using it for purposes that provide clients with productivity services. As an Office 365 customer, companies will know where their data is stored and who can access it. However, since Google Apps is largely focused on advertising, there isn’t much clarity around data governance – this makes it risky for companies. Many of Google’s capabilities, such as data loss prevention, are again offered through third-party services that are run by different agreements.
The Winner Is…
So, based on these points, I think the winner is obvious. But, if you need more convincing, visit our website for more information.
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