Microsoft Office 365 vs Google Apps

In the world of cloud computing, two names stand out above the rest – Microsoft and Google. The battle between the two rages on as Microsoft Office 365 goes head-to-head with Google Apps for the right to be crowned king of the cloud based office application providers. Following up on his basic lowdown, Dominic Pollard gets down to the nitty gritty differences between the two.

Once you reach the conclusion that the cloud is the way to go for computer applications like word processing, spreadsheets, email and instant messaging, you'll probably be turning a large chunk of your attention to choosing between the two leading candidates for your money – Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365.

On Wednesday (August 17), Microsoft gold certified partner Content and Code ran an event named 'Battle for the Cloud: Microsoft vs. Google'.  Content and Code employees were used to represent both sides of the debate, drawing obvious accusations of conflicts of interest, but, nevertheless, if armed with a pinch of salt, the audience members were able to take away a good understanding of they key benefits and drawbacks of each solution and the differences between the two.

For, although at first glance they may appear to offer very similar services, important differences there are. In a follow up to our initial introduction to the debate, here is a more comprehensive breakdown of what you need to know and the key points of contrast between the two.

Security

Security remains one of, if not the ultimate, most pressing concerns for businesses looking to join the cloud. Not surprisingly, therefore, both Google and Microsoft make it a priority in the service they provide. In many ways, each mirrors the other in their commitment to security issues.

The two companies, both members of the Cloud Security Alliance, have their own dedicated team to ensure optimum security, and both issue a 99.9 per cent uptime guarantee. With both services, only cleared senior personnel can have access to a company's data. A wide range of protection measures which include detailed password customisation, anti-virus protection and data recovery are also included as standard.

Furthermore, both services comply with Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) type one and two, as well as adhering to the US and EU International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles legislation. This is very important as cloud computing, a global platform, raises what Lewis Isaacs, Office 365 business manager at Content and Code, calls an “ambiguous geographic challenge”. International data exchange is subject to differing legislation country by country. The Safe Harbor Principles are the closest thing to an overarching law currently in existence to safeguard the privacy of a company's data and information.

Microsoft, unlike Google, also has an extra ISO certification, (WHICH?) something Google is currently trying to attain, though the process can be lengthy. Google does, though, set a target of instantaneous data location and recovery, whereas Microsoft, which stores a company's data and information in just one location rather than splitting it across two or more locations like Google, sets a much longer targets for data recovery – anything between one and six hours.

Key differences:

• Microsoft has ISO certification.
• Google sets an instantaneous target for data recovery compared to Microsoft's target of one to six hours.

Messaging and communications

In the email client contest between Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Exchange Online the consumer is confronted with two very familiar products. Both offer emails, calendars, 25GBs of storage and anti-spam protection, all of which is accessible on mobile devices, as well as PCs, from anywhere and at any time.

The similarities in their services go further. Both offer the user the ability to flag, tag and sort their emails. Moreover, on each you are able to direct mail from certain people to different folders or to automatically forward or delete it, all of which makes it easier to organise and manage communications.

Other features that both boast include instant messaging, a calendar you can share with colleagues, the creation of lists or tasks, video calls, and the ability to see the availability and status of work-mates.

Microsoft's Exchange Online does offer a more advanced set of features and customisations beyond this though. This involves handy mail tips to remind you if you are about to send an email to an important, person like your boss for example, and it also has 'protected view' for added security when you're opening email attachments.

As for communications, Google Talk and Microsoft's Lync Online again share a very similar set of features.

Through your email contacts you're able to see who is 'available' to chat and the user is able to select their own status to state whether they are busy, in a meeting, out of the office and so on. Both can record chat history and, technology permitting, there's also the option to video call each other.

Microsoft's Lync Online might not be quite so clean and easy to use as Google Talk but this is largely because it offers a larger and more advanced set of features. These include the ability to create a broadcast which up to 250 people can join. There is also the option to share programmes with those who you are speaking to for instant collaboration.

What is slightly perplexing, however, is that despite Microsoft's purchase of Skype earlier this year, there is yet to be any announcement of a plan of integrating this with Lync.

Key differences:

• Gmail offers a 30 second undo option on all sent or deleted mail.
• Gmail and Google Talk have much cleaner and simpler interfaces and are easier to use.
• Exchange Online and Lync have a more advanced set of features and customisation options for your email and communications.
• Lync allows you to create a broadcast for up to 250 people and allows programmes to be shared and edited with those who you are speaking to.

Collaboration

Whereas as the previous two categories have seen minimal differences between the two competitors, when it comes to Google Docs versus SharePoint there is marked variation from one ti the other.

Each offer access to documents from anywhere and anytime; they allow the client to create, upload and share files and then edit these files in the browser. Changes to documents can be recorded and viewed and the documents can be stored in custom made folders.

Importantly, Google Docs is not fully compatible with Microsoft Office. This means that if a file from Word or Powerpoint, for example, is uploaded and shared on Google Docs, things such as graphics and tables may not show up.

Microsoft's SharePoint is, of course, fully compatible with Office and it's here that pretty much everyone's familiarity and understanding of Office programmes is of great advantage – these files can be seamlessly uploaded, shared and edited on the cloud. Businesses choosing to go with Google Docs would almost certainly still require an auxiliary office based programme – whether that’s Microsoft’s, Apple’s, OpenOffice.org’s or any other provider – on top of the Google suite of services if they require anything other than mere basic functioanality.

Both Google and Microsoft offer the ability to create Intranet sites to share information and data within the business. This is a relatively simple task on either, with templates on hand to take most of the difficulty out of the process.

Google Sites offers a greater variety of templates from which to choose and allows things like calendars, which are synced with Gmail, and other files to be effortlessly inserted. Microsoft's SharPoint is much the same but with a plainer and less imaginative set of templates.

Key differences:

• Google Docs does NOT offer full Office compatibility for online editing.
• Google Sites delivers a better range of more interesting templates to choose from.

Conclusion

When it comes to the basic package that Google and Microsoft offer, there is very little to differentiate between them. Their range of products and services remain largely the same as too does the base rate – each having an entry price of a little over £30 per user per year.

When the extra add-ons are factored in, the Google price will only rise to around £130, compared to roughly £210 for Microsoft's most comprehensive package.

Yet this price is a reflection of the how advanced the respective services are. Microsoft Office 365 generally offers greater functionality and allows for more customisation. But because of that it sacrifices simplicity in appearance and use to Google.

As such, Google Apps appears to have the edge with smaller business for whom the easier to use system and more basic features are ideal. Office 365, on the other hand, is enterprise ready because it can cater to the broader range of services and products that larger companies require.

Content and Code's Zane Freame says that this ongoing battle can “only be good for the consumer”, as each reacts to the changes and developments of the other. “They are learning from each other in terms of what does and doesn't work,” he says.

The best advice is to take advantage of the trial options that both Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 offer to see which is best suited to your specific needs.

You can talk to Microsoft and Google, as well as whole host of other leading cloud service providers, at the Cloud Circle’s 7th and 8th Forums in September and November. For further information and to register your free place, email oonagh.fawcettwood@thecloudcircle.com.