Creating a big, multi-billion dollar enterprise like Microsoft or Google takes a certain type of personality. You must do things nobody else has done. Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin all saw the value in new technologies and worked to make them a reality. Now, both of these companies are competing in the software market. Microsoft has long dominated the email, office tools, and web browser markets. Their customer list is enormous and most new PC consumers still find Microsoft software pre-installed. Even with well-established alternatives like OpenOffice and Lotus Notes from IBM, Microsoft is leagues ahead of everybody else. This is where Google steps in.
Why should a business choose Google Apps over Microsoft Office? The first reason is affordability. Google is $50 per user per year. Training is easy since most of us are familiar enough with Google services like Gmail. With Google, businesses get the basic productivity tools of email, calendars, document writing and editing, as well as a website builder, private video sharing and more.
Are Google’s office tools as good as Microsoft’s? The short answer is no, at least not yet. One of the main drawbacks is since the software is being outsourced to Google, IT support is not on the same level or as available as Microsoft’s. However, Google is running, not walking, into the cloud computing market. They’re proving it’s a viable alternative to in-house IT systems and that’s a new idea. A world changing idea. Clearly Microsoft has taken notice and is now offering its own online services now. As of a survey done in April, 2010 about 4% of small business use Google Apps, and nearly no large businesses do.
Should you switch? Our advice: Not yet. We’re familiar with OpenOffice and Google Apps, but MS Office offers much better functionality. It is years ahead of these newer platforms and it shows in the features, functionality, and versatility. Some people might enjoy Google Apps’ simplicity and it might work for 80% of what you’d want to use it for, but you’ll end up turning to Microsoft Excel or Word or Exchange for the other 20% of your needs.
