Google Apps vs Microsoft BPOS, Office 365 - Part 1
- 28 March, 2011 07:00
- Comments 1
IT behemoths, Microsoft and Google, have for years been embroiled in battles over who would control the move by different industries to the Cloud.
Since at least 2007, Australian universities and education authorities eager to outsource their email have turned to either provider in lieu of limited competition from the market. For the next battle, however, the stakes are higher. Both Google and Microsoft are betting all of their chips on a sector that is likely to prove much more lucrative than any before it: Enterprise.
There is little doubt Google already has the stronger foothold; the company has offered an enterprise-grade version of its Apps portfolio for four years, and claims sign-up rates in excess of 3000 businesses per day. The caveat is that most of those businesses appear to be small to medium in size, looking to reduce small volume licensing costs, but the momentum is undeniable nonetheless.
On the other hand, although Microsoft looks to have fallen behind in recent years, its Cloud suite is growing stronger with each successive product release. Its hosted Exchange solution is already highly competitive, for example, but the productivity aspect has been an obvious gap in its wider portfolio.
The software giant intends to change all that when it takes Office 365 out of beta and into the real world. When exactly that will happen remains a mystery — Microsoft is reticent to name an exact launch date and even those close to the company’s Cloud services aren’t sure when it will be confident enough to launch it to a wider customer base.
Regardless, Microsoft hopes the portfolio — a mix of Office Web Apps and hosted instances of SharePoint, Exchange and Lync unified communications — will steal thunder from arch-enemy, Google.
Even without an official launch, however, Microsoft has begun to take swipes at Google’s offering, claiming the limited suite of Google’s products means the entire portfolio isn’t ready for the enterprise. The options from the search giant — Sites, internal YouTube, Gmail, chat, video conferencing and a maturing portfolio of Docs applications — are, according to Microsoft, little to worry about.
That is, of course, just what a competitor would say.
Read part 2: the Google Apps experience.
Read part 3: the Microsoft Office BPOS, 365 experience.
In reality, the portfolios are pitched at slightly different markets. Though scaled to larger businesses, the enterprise edition of Google Apps retains much of the product offering made specifically for individuals, small businesses and the education market. SharePoint, at the very least, is considered a more robust option than any document repository currently on Google’s platform.
But the lack of a consolidated and readymade option so far from Redmond is a problem that even Microsoft observer and often evangelist, Paul Thurrott, recently recognised.
“We're in this age of transition,” he writes. “And during this time, Microsoft is vulnerable, because users may move on to other hosted office productivity offerings as they make their own transitions to the cloud.”
Follow James Hutchinson on Twitter: @j_hutch
Follow CIO Australia on Twitter: @CIO_Australia
Recommended
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
-
Why change management doesn’t work
-
Larry Page wants to see your medical records
-
Dual-Persona Smartphones Not a BYOD Panacea
-
After two-year hiatus, EFF accepts bitcoin donations again
-
CIOs struggle to deliver timely mobile business apps: survey
-
How the Cloud Changes the Game for Line of Business Managers in Midsize Companies
It can be argued that what distinguishes midsize businesses most from large and small companies is not size, but attitude. While attitude alone cannot mitigate the challenges faced by midsize businesses, technology can help. And no technology offers more promise than the cloud. This paper, explores midsize business challenges from the perspective, not of the IT department, but of the line of business managers they support. Read on. -
How Web Security Improves Productivity and Compliance
In this white paper, we will look at how secure web gateways, one type of information security technology, can provide benefits to many departments within any business or government agency. Download now. -
Tips Choosing a Cloud Service Provider
Because cloud is still a new and evolving business model, it can be argued that the decision to select a cloud service provider should be approached with even greater diligence than other IT decisions. Many providers use the same term to define very different services, “hybrid cloud” is one example, making it difficult to compare offers. This whitepaper will help enterprises evaluate their options in two critical areas: the cloud service portfolio and the service provider itself. Read now.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
Comments
matt
1
We migrated to Google apps at the turn of the year and been amazed by how bad the support is, we are into the third week of a reported issue and we are doing all the chasing. This is no minor issue, it could be devastating to our business. I can honestly say that I have never experienced anything that comes remotely close to the dire support of Google apps. What good is a 24/7 support line if Google then sit on an issue for close to 3 weeks without even a preliminary assessment of the issue? Be warned the support is incredibly bad!