Google Apps or Office 365
After being a faithful Microsoft customer for years, is it time to switch over to Google when choosing between Office 365 and Google Apps? As a business owner, what do you trust more—the age-old wisdom and IT expertise of Microsoft or the innovative skills and service providing ability of Google? Google Apps or Office 365 – a tough choice.
The questions are aplenty, and as business owners, it is important to have answers that help you make a decision. The requirements for cloud services are only increasing everyday, and with Microsoft and Google being the top service providers, you need to determine which one would best suit your storage needs.
The Dilemma
Various suggestions are floating around about whether Google or Microsoft would be the correct solution for your business. In such a scenario, it is important to make an informed choice based on the experiences provided by users or experts who have already been through the specifications in detail.
This study lucidly explains how Google is ahead of Microsoft because it has been able to successfully simplify matters. The argument shows that Microsoft has launched multiple labels that make it very confusing for the end user.
On the other hand, another study points out how data privacy and protection can be a concern with Google Apps. Google Apps is a relatively new entry to the enterprise applications business and is still eyed as a platform that is more suited for personal use or for leisure.
To back up Microsoft, some long-term users have pointed out how Google Apps lacks the ability to take on a more business like approach or finesse that seals the deal for larger business owners. Depending on the type of business or usage, users are strongly divided between Microsoft and Google, but to get a clearer idea, let’s have a look at the features in detail.
Features
Here is a mini breakdown that gives us a brief idea about both services.
While comparing Administrative Dashboards for both Office 365 and Google Apps, the easier-to-use option is the non-cluttered Office 365. The Google dashboard seems to be overflowing with third-party apps and other advertorials that make life difficult for somebody trying hard to concentrate and work.
Moving on next to User Management and Setup functionality, Microsoft has an edge with its Lync, Office, and SharePoint running effortlessly, while users of Google Apps need multiple assisted tours to help understand the process.
In the User Management and Admin section, Microsoft allows creation of individual owners with specific admin rights, while Google allows users to be created individually from a control panel. Microsoft’s options for mail server and user settings are also extensive while Google does not offer the option of controlling a mail server.
Coming to Mobile Management, Microsoft seems to be a clear winner because it allows a consolidated method to manage a smartphone. Google allows users to manage Android devices that are version 2.2 or later and a system for Blackberry users as well. However, both these offerings are quite confusing and can be quite an effort for users.
The other benefit Microsoft has is its Document Management through SharePoint, which has been fine-tuned over a few years while Google Sites is still looking for a foothold because itis a far simpler tool.
Even though Google Chat has gained much popularity for Chatting up buddies, when users have to get into a video call, it becomes essential to have an active Google+ account. This can be quite a drawback for business users because Microsoft Lync offers all of these features as a combined package. The more critical shortcoming is that Hangout allows about 10 people to join in, while Lync allows about 250.
As Microsoft seems to be a winner in most departments of the features section, and an obvious choice for bigger organizations, Google can be quite a match for them if it is being considered for smaller organizations or start-ups.
The Hidden Truth
In the fight for supremacy and owning the largest share of users, both Google and Microsoft have been upgrading and improving upon their existing features and services, which can be highly beneficial for the business owners. However, the most important question is, is your data safely stored to last forever or do you need a backup?
Google and Microsoft cannot protect your data from malicious attack, and if you delete your data accidentally, they store it for only 30 days. If you don’t act within that time period, you will never be able to get your important data back.
However, having a backup solution in place can wipe out all your worries about data loss. And that’s where we can help you out. CloudAlly provides daily automatic backups for both Google Apps and Office365 data to AmazonS3 secure storage.
