Opposition of Office 365 is Google Apps

2015

Partners of Google pass to Microsoft

On August 25, 2015 it became known that partners of Google began to refuse cooperation with corporation because of decrease in profit on distribution of services and software of Internet giant. Resellers began to pass to partnership with Microsoft.

As told the CRN edition sources in the channel, some most loyal suppliers of cloud solutions of Google do not see a pecuniary benefit from exclusive cooperation with corporation any more. It concerns even those companies which work with Google from the very beginning of development of a partner network in 2009.

Partners of Google pass to Microsoft due to the lack of a pecuniary benefit from cooperation

A number of regional partners of Google who staked on software and Apps for Work services began to be added to the product Microsoft Office 365 portfolios. And some companies ceased to propose solutions of Google at all.

The source of CRN, close to Google, claims that at least 80% of exclusive regional partners of the company (them there are several hundred) already started sales of Microsoft Office 365.

"Only reseller Google to be very difficult and unprofitable now. This business became niche" — the interlocutor of the edition said.

By its estimates, from 2013 to 2015 the gross margin from sales of licenses for G Suite (before Google Apps) and promotions of these services dropped by 33% as interest in them weakened. At the same time the margin in the business connected with Microsoft Office 365 for the same period rose in different cases by 25-100%.

The representatives of resellers Google polled by a source agreed in opinion that it is extremely heavy to support and increase business with Internet giant especially as it in fight against Microsoft focused on large partners, underestimating force and influence of a large number of small regional players.

Since 2016 the companies whose turnover from business in the field of Google Apps will be measured from $500 thousand will be "premier" partners of Google. In this case the number of large resellers Google can decrease approximately up to 10 while by August, 2015 their number exceeds 100.^[1]

Office 365 vs Google Apps for Work for the SMB enterprises

For June 18, 2015 the price of tools of performance and joint work for small and medium business went down^[2].

Google overcomes Microsoft in pricing war by means of offers of initial level which cost begins with $4.17 a month on the user (at an annual subscription).

The cheapest tariff plan of Microsoft costs $5 a month on the user (at a subscription for a year). Both companies offer flexible options of monthly payment which begin with $5 a month for the G Suite set (before Google Apps) and $6 a month for online versions of Microsoft Office. The price not the only factor influencing the choice for the small enterprises, but it can be important for startups. Flexible tariff plans allow the enterprises to add or cancel a subscription to employees as required, it helps to save in the long term.

Competitive and rather affordable prices cause, more, need of the choice of level of comfort of use of software from Google or Microsoft. Both options are delivered with functionality as web mails, the calendar, messages, documents, spreadsheets and the presentations of slides. There are also noticeable differences in functions for business clients in products of Google and Microsoft.

Microsoft Office 365 vs Google for Work

Mobile functions - key difference between Office 365 and Google for Work because Microsoft takes almost twice more money, than Google for access to the mobile applications. Small business can use all range of Google applications for smartphones and tablets for only $4.17 a month on one user while Microsoft asks from $8.25 a month for use of this service.

Owners of business often select the tools and platforms used in their organization or the most comfortable for them. The choice between Google and Microsoft, as a rule, is the choice of functions, the price and a type of access.

Microsoft Office 365 for SMB: opportunities, price and access

Microsoft offers three tariff plans Office 365 for small business where the prices differ from $5 to $15 a month for the user. The companies wishing to subscribe for a year can receive a discount of about 17% and to apply for pricing of SMB, the organizations should have 300 or less users.

The plan of the initial Office 365 Business Essentials level is the offer only for small business, and does not include access to Microsoft Office applications for the PC, Mac, smartphones or tablets. It means that clients of Business Essentials should rely completely on web versions of Office that can not cost economy of $3.25 for the user, due to failure from the following tariff plan.

Tarify plans of Office 365 Business and Business Premium which stand from $8:25 a.m. to $12:50 p.m. at an annual subscription probably better are suitable for medium and small business. Clients of any tariff plan will get access to usual Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publishers and OneNote for desktop PCs, smartphones and tablets. All three tariff plans Office 365 for small business include 1Tb cloud storage on each user.

Google for Work for Small Businesses: functions, price, access

Offers Google couple of plans for small business (or business of any size) which will cost from $50 to $120 a year for one user. The plan of initial level is delivered with a monthly discount in the amount of $4.17 for one user if the organization undertakes to subscribe for a year. Without obligations the premium plan costs the same $10 a month on the user.

Both plans of Google Apps for Work are online and mobile access to services of Google company, including Gmail and Hangouts, and other alternatives of Office: Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive. This universal access to mobile applications of Google and web tools - a key factor, but Google does not offer the software of the same level for the PC and Mac as Microsoft. Users of G Suite (before Google Apps) can use Docs, Sheets and other Google applications in a standalone mode, but any experienced user of Office can certify that offers of Google turn pale in comparison with Microsoft Word, Excel and other tools.

The plan of initial level of Google company from 30 GB of space for storage on the user does not compete with Microsoft. Google fights in premium service, against place 1TB for storage on each user or unlimited space for storage for accounts with not less, than five users. The monthly plan for $10 is also delivered with advanced management, politicians and Google Vault that helps administrators to save, archive, look for and to export e-mail of the organization and the message of a chat.

Result

The price of a subscription of initial level of Google is about 17% less, than the starting offer of Microsoft. When it comes to storage location in subscriptions of initial level, Microsoft offers almost twice more Google.

Result: the price, space for storage, access and flexibility - important factors for small business. However, in many cases of difference in functions between Google for Work Microsoft Office 365 are also not so important as acquaintance to the platform.

Business test: MS Office 365 against Google Apps for Work

By the beginning of April, 2015 in the market of cloud office applications the set of different products, but the most known is available to corporate users to work with e-mail, documents, calendars and file sharing, perhaps, G Suite (before Google Apps) are for Work and Microsoft Office 365. Each of them has strong and weaknesses, having studied which, the companies can select for themselves an optimal solution. Who suits Google Apps for Work or Microsoft Office 365 more, observers of the CIO.com edition tried to find out, having polled representatives of business^[3]. Specialists of TAdviser updated data for clients in Russia.

Rates, simplicity of pricing, data storage

As of the beginning of April, 2015 the cost of Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365 in the world begins with $5 for the user in a month. However, in the Russian market in respect of the price Microsoft has small advantage: the company created the price list for the business version  of Office 365 at the level of 50 rubles for dollar whereas Google levies a payment at a current rate of the American currency which by April 3, 2015 made 56.7 rubles. At such rate the initial price label at Google Apps for Work makes 284 rubles against 250 rubles at  Office 365.

The subscription for  the Google Apps for Work and Office 365 cloud applicaions can be made out both for a month, and for a year. Those who select the annual plan to Google Apps for Work receive a discount in the amount of $10. The business users of Word, Excel and PowerPoint who made a choice for benefit of the monthly offer should pay from 300 rubles on the user in a month that is 50 rubles more in comparison with an annual rate.

Comparison of Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365

Source: CIO.com, TAdviser

Google offers two options of subscriptions (cost of $5 and $10), Microsoft — seven (from 250 to 1100 rubles). Users of Office 365 receive from 1 Tbyte of disk space in OneDrive. In a case with Google the minimum size of the provided empty seat in the cloud storage is 30 Gbytes.

The edition notes that for the organizations and the enterprises pricing is one of the defining factors when choosing between Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365, however functionality of platforms, their safety and experience of employees reckon as not less important with the applications which are a part of products.

According to Eric Shlissel (Eric Schlissel), the CEO of service provider in the field of IT consulting GeekTek IT Services, the company uses Google for Work, however she recommends to the clients Office 365 as they work with Microsoft Outlook long ago. Most of corporate users do not want to change the strategy of office work, Shlissel noted, having added the following:

"As a rule, we advise Google for Work to the companies with the young and technically grounded personnel. Chief information officers need to watch how employees use technologies and work with them out of offices".

Advantages and shortcomings

The chief information officer of Creative Solutions in Healthcare (manages the centers for individual care for patients) Shawn Wiora says that the department of information technologies of the company uses Google for Work while the staff of other divisions works with Office 365.

"In many respects Google for Work is more budget alternative of Office 365 which perfectly is suitable for startups and small firms which for normal work are forced to cut down expenses. However this economy is followed by a number of the nuances limiting product capabilities for corporate clients" — Sean Viora noted.

According to him, for Google for Work four main shortcomings which business users face are inherent: difficulties with compatibility of products, shared access to calendars, transfer of the formulas created in Excel in spreadsheets of Google Sheets and also some problems of vertical interaction — for example, last failure of Google to sign the agreement of HIPAA BAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Business Associate) in the market of health care. Google removed the barrier connected with compliance to the HIPAA standard only at the end of 2013.

Sean Viora considers that he in 90% of cases of Google for Work is capable to replace completely Microsoft Office 365, however the remained 10% do the first of these products by bad replacement to the second in those situations when the companies decided to refuse services of Microsoft, hoping for simple transition to solutions of Google.

Comparison of applications in Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365

BetterCloud company offering services in the field of security and management for Google Apps and Office 365 itself uses both cloud products. According to the Chief information officer of BetterCloud Tim Burke, the company uses Google for Work as the only platform for the corporate calendar and a booking system of conference rooms, but at the same time provides access to Office accounts to 365 those users which work with products of Microsoft.

"We studied numerous options for coexistence of two platforms (especially for the calendar and contacts), however did not find the full-fledged opportunity allowing Google Apps and Office 365 it is good to work together at one domain" — Burke said.

He also added that Google Apps and Office 365 treat the platforms of a corporate class having almost identical set of opportunities, and the product of Google at the same time becomes more and more focused on a business environment.

To strengths of the Google Apps Chief Information Officer of BetterCloud carried deeply integrated infrastructure and the simple scheme of licensing, and to advantages of Office 365 — ease in management and hereditary communication with last products of Microsoft thanks to what people can use Office 365 as programs to which they got used for many years.

If such companies as BetterCloud, try to combine Google Apps and Office 365, then some other categorically adhere to only one product. So, the German firm Fair Point specializing in management of business trips against Excel alternative from Google.

"I will shout for impetuous rage if take away my Excel from me and will force to use his unaccomplished imitator – Google Sheets" — the specialist in digital marketing of Fair Point Martin Milanov said.

Kristin Bassett, the corporate marketing manager of AppNeta (the developer of the solutions increasing performance of different programs), says that the company passed from Office 365 to Google Apps for Work that all employees could use a single mail system which in AppNeta is considered one of the most priority corporate tools. Thanks to transition to Gmail the company learned to hold and accept better new software engineers, being for AppNeta a key component of business, noted the Basset.

Preparation of the company irrespective of the choice of the platform

Tim Burke from BetterCloud and Sean Viora from Creative Solutions in Healthcare agreed in opinion that before the choice between Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps for Work of the company should understand completely needs of employees and decide on the tasks.

According to Viora, in certain cases effectively to use both platforms, however it can lead to increase in work and emergence of some IT problems.

"Each new service increases to end users complexity of work not linearly, and in geometrical progression therefore reduction supporters of Putin from obtaining information from so large number of places will be a crucial question for all who used the hybrid approach" — Sean Viora believes.

Tim Burke recommends to IT departments to analyze activity of the serving companies and to experiment with projects and also not to delay with decision making concerning the choice of the main or only platform of cloud office applications.

"That the company — Google Apps or Office 365 did not select, it receives the cloud office platform capable to change a business method radically if, of course, it is correctly implemented and deeply implemented" — Burke told.

Office 365 or Google Apps in the field of education

With development of cloud model of calculations in Microsoft reviewed pricing policy on^[4]. If before acquisition of the license for all the time of operation was offered to users, then with transition to cloud model payment became monthly, depending on need of access to service. Work with documents is considered as service, but not use of the personal application.

After a release of the cloud Office 365 office suite, applied the same system of monthly payment to it. The new product found application including for educational needs. Microsoft offered educational institutions in the USA and in the world rates with a considerable discount.

Office 365 for educational institutions, 2012

The feature of use of office suites by students and teachers differs from work in the companies and corporations: the working day of school students, students, teachers is not limited to occupations in audiences. They need to perform house tasks, to read files, to create the presentations, to conduct calculations in spreadsheets. Application of a packet of office programs is limited as occurs outside walls of educational institutions.

Google follows close Microsoft

It is unknown, how long there could be such "world order", but Google operates on the IT market. This company began search of new forms of participation on a proscenium of "cloud" IT. Also found the niche – Google Docs. Google made this access free for a considerable part of users.

Development of cloud office applications became the next step of the company and as a result there was a free set of office cloud programs which in the Russian version received the name "G Suite (before Google Apps) for educational institutions".

Google Apps for Education, 2013

Office 365 for educational institutions

Microsoft found the solution. Releasing in the circulation of Office 365, the company offered educational institutions after acquisition of the license (on educational institution) to provide to the students and teachers a free opportunity to use the products Office 365 in any place, without being limited to walls of educational institutions.

Originally this initiative extended only to educational institutions of the USA. However since recent time Microsoft expanded geography of influence and can use this offer including in Russia.

The ICT Online edition quoted the Russian representative office of Microsoft: "Now any educational institution which purchased licenses for Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for all employees and teachers on terms of subscription has the right to provide access to Office 365 ProPlus for installation to 5 stationary and 5 mobile devices to all the teachers and pupils without additional payment. Office 365 ProPlus includes all usual and complete versions of Microsoft Office applications which can use in a standalone mode. This option is available worldwide including in Russia".

Plans and the prices of Office 365 for education

To each educational institution which purchased the license "For Educational Institutions" from Microsoft the personal e-mail address is selected and it is the password for access to free service. It is required to visit the website office.com/getoffice365 and to study instructions for use of service.

Microsoft, without lagging behind Google, offers each client 1 Tbyte of cloud space of OneDrive for data storage and access to a packet of the cloud Office Online programs. It is a basic set of office functions which can use via the browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome), being, for example, on the way or the Internet cafe.

Free of charge or for money?

It seems that the users having a direct bearing on an education system got free legal access to the latests version of office programs that is a necessary part for the competent organization of work with IT, however the payment for use of service works. Considering that many Russian educational institutions treat the state education system, payment is entered on behalf of the Russian state.

Google Apps for Education?..

Google goes the way: for the Russian users well cloud solution of Google Apps for Education - for work with e-mail, the calendar and a chat. Set of ten Google applications where also office online programs are submitted is had. All tools are available to the address: www.google.ru/intx/ru/work/apps/education/

The packet of Google Apps for Education is provided free of charge. Google is going to save this principle of providing access and to continue to issue free of charge accounts for pupils. The company noted, it becomes as a token of gratitude, first of all, to educational institutions because the Google company is obliged by the emergence to the research project at Stanford University.

2014: Microsoft teaches partners how to return the clients who went to Google Apps

In February, 2014 Microsoft waged a marketing campaign in the channel with emphasis how partners can convince the customers who passed with Office 365 to Google Apps, to return back^[5].

In the document studied by CRN, the vendor characterizes the made efforts as "the first campaign of the competition to Google which is officially entered for Microsoft partners", specifying that it is aimed at the organizations with staff from 10 to 100 people.

In the document Microsoft makes recommendations as the partner could convince the potential client of Google Apps to select instead of this Office 365.

Imagine a situation: you fly home by the airplane after a week of a holiday. The person in the next chair notices that you use Windows 8, and wants to talk about work, you in flight so far. From this conversation you learn that your neighbor is ready to subscribe for Google Apps for Business, and interests him whether he will be able to get on the way access to everything what he deals at work with - apparently, he spends much time on trips. And here, when you completed drawing up the forecast budget and saved it in the folder on SkyDrive, the thought comes to your mind: "Here a fine opportunity to tell it about advantages of Microsoft Office 365".

Also advice is given how to make out signs that the user of Google Apps is dissatisfied that he receives from these services.

Provide such situation: you participate in a meeting where there are other entrepreneurs and owners of small business, and start talking to someone who subscribed for Google Apps only three months ago. This person casually mentions the dissatisfaction with support and service which he receives, having subscribed for Google Apps for Business. It is a fine opportunity to tell it about advantages of Microsoft Office 365.

Actually, this campaign started in September and will last until the end of the current financial year (on June 30), but Microsoft did not confirm it. Google also did not answer a request to comment.

For today the share of Microsoft in a segment of the cloud office software is much more, than at Google, but the fact that the company entered the special program for the channel to resist to Google Apps, shows that she is anxious with trends in the sector of small business where decisions on the choice of software often come down to the choice of the smaller price.

Google Apps for Business stands up 50 dollars for the user in a year, and the cheapest Microsoft Office 365 option for the organizations - 60 dollars for the user in a year at the state to 25 people and 180 dollars for the user in a year at the state from 26 to 300 persons.

Dels Bing, the general manager of Paragus IT, says that the marketing campaign of Microsoft "is interesting" as partners should not think over arguments, against the choice of Google. However, Bing is not going to participate in this campaign as Paragus IT ceased to use a cloud service of storage of Microsoft SkyDrive (soon it will be renamed into OneDrive) because of the work speed which did not satisfy it. Instead of it VAR selected a cloud service of Soonr (service provider from Campbell, piece California). "It is represented to me that the prepared marketing materials of Microsoft are inapplicable to our approach - replacements of SkyDrive with other paid service", - Bing told.

Chris Gerts, the general manager of New Signature, says that he had so far no opportunity to check in the recommendation of Microsoft. But he notes that the number of the companies which selected Google Apps few years ago which express a desire to return on Office 365 grows. "In the last half a year I noticed shift: most of customers, it seems, do not consider Google as worthy option", - Gerts told.

Perhaps, the threat to corporate business of Microsoft from Google Apps has only theoretical character so far, but speak about it much recently. This week CDW announced that it will begin to sell Google Apps for Business and will provide the corresponding services of migration. Possibly, this agreement was reached still before it became known of reduction of incentives on Office 365 at the beginning of January, and CDW says that partnership with Google will not affect the relations with other vendors. And still, when one of the largest Microsoft partners begins to sell services of the competitor, it is a significant step with serious effects.

Some partners say that reduction of incentives on Office 365 will push them more to be guided by sales of Google Apps. In the recent survey of solution providers conducted by CRN, 34% answered that they are going to add Google Apps for Business to the product portfolio, and 70% - that will recommend cloud applicaions of Google more actively, than earlier.

Microsoft states that Office 365 is the most quickly growing product in its history and that the number of the partners selling Office 365 for the last year doubled. And still, Google has an opportunity to play on discontent in the channel of the rival caused by reduction of incentives and other reasons. And if Google achieves success, then Var'am, likely, should see a new round of marketing rhetoric of Microsoft.

2011

Perhaps, Microsoft would prefer to use more cloud term, but 'software plus services' is just that formula which best of all reflects approach of the company to cloud applicaions. Each Office 365 component is provided both in hosting, and in local edition. The majority of the Office 365 components is available via any web browser, however the enterprises aimed at gaining maximum benefit from Office 365 will use a complete packet of office applications for 'fat' clients^[6].

The G Suite applications (before Google Apps), on the contrary, are most precisely characterized by a marketing slogan which Google uses for the devices with the Chrome system: 'Anything, except Web'. They accommodate only in data processing centers of Google and though have several points of integration into Windows clients, assume use of the web browser and permanent Internet connection.

When comparing Google Apps and Office 365 much attention was paid to web versions of the text editors included in them, spreadsheets and instruments of preparation of the presentations. At the same time based on testing which were carried out to eWeek Labs within several months it is necessary to recognize that on-line tools of both packets because of limitation of their functions and lack of support of offline work cannot replace completely the application for 'fat' clients.

In the center of opposition Office 365 and Google Apps there are hosting message transfer services. Both well cope with the main objectives of e-mail and maintaining the calendar, providing support of all types of clients — Web-centric, desktop and mobile. On server side such key functions as filtering of undesirable mail and malware, archiving of messages and remote administration are successfully implemented. At the same time availability of services according to the agreement on the service level (SLA) makes 99.9%.

The choice of the service, the most suitable for your enterprise will come down to questions of cost, the need for cloud or local deployment and also to options of client access. Except message exchange both services offer a number of the opportunities focused on interaction of users: general work areas, change histories of documents, means of unified communications.

In total for a cloud

The Google Apps tools exist only as the cloud applicaions provided from data processing centers of Google and assume the choice of this company as hosting provider. It can throw the organizations which got used to control the infrastructure completely into confusion. However, Google provides the office applications since 2007 and already accumulated sufficient experience of administration of such servers.

In time, during which eWeek Labs used Google Apps in standard edition, Google modified and added a large number of functions to the service. It had no considerable impact neither for the period of availability, nor on convenience of operation of applications.

Contrary to it the companies passing to Office 365 from the set of applications of Business Productivity Online Standard (BPOS) suite which preceded network services of Microsoft received the thirty-page guide to migration. Changes of URL and updates of the client software, necessary for completion of transition, undersigned for the document.

Judging by amount of works, software of the typical enterprise, necessary for transfer, to new rails, everything is not so difficult. And, according to data of Microsoft, transition to a cloud from Exchange 2010 is much simpler, than it was in case of Exchange 2007 and BPOS. Nevertheless Microsoft faces with бóльшим quantity of problems, than Google. In particular, because Office 365 consists of several server components which are available also in the local area networks, as well as the versions provided by third-party hosting providers, future updates should be done for all channels. Only time will show how Microsoft will cope with this task.

On the other hand, the possibility of the choice between the server and a hosting of other providers can be profitable to those organizations which would like to save freedom of replacement of provider smoothly from the applications.

On client side

Considering that the staff of the companies spends a lot of time in email applications, it is not surprising that the choice of an e-mail client is the main task by consideration of transition to cloud computing. Fortunately, both Office 365, and Google Apps offer options of client access for desktop, Web and mobile platforms.

In Office 365 a primary client for mail and the calendar is Outlook. For Office 365 Windows platforms requires the Outlook 2007 SP3 installation or later version. Systems on OS X will require Entourage 2008 or Outlook 2011.

In our tests Outlook worked with Office 365 just as it worked with Exchange on the local server or on a remote server of external provider. At this Office 365 under the POP3 or IMAP protocols supports e-mail clients of the third parties (not Microsoft) and reads the general calendar through iCal.

Google Apps also supports access to mail through the POP3 and IMAP protocols which allow to use Outlook or other e-mail clients. Protocols are applicable only for mail therefore for synchronization not only messages, but also contacts and the calendar Google offers buyers of Apps the client application Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook.

The application well proved to be in the eWeek Labs tests except for the calendar which it could not synchronize.

In network serves as an e-mail client for Office 365 in edition Exchange 2010. It well repeats a type and functions of desktop Outlook option and also exceeds the previous versions of this client in respect of support of different browsers, and not just IE.

In Google Apps as the web client the Gmail service which unlike Outlook and Outlook Web Access presents messages in the form of chains and uses metaphors of labels instead of folders is used. For the users preferring traditional submission of messages and folder structure last year Google added a feature for shutdown of chains and inclusion of the enclosed labels for simulation of folders. New opportunities are available both in desktop, and in the web client.

Work of users on mobile devices for Office 365 and Google Apps looks equally as both services for synchronization of mail, tasks of the calendar and contacts on IOS and Android devices use the Microsoft Activesync protocol. To devices with Android the Google company offers specially modifed for tablets and smartphones of the program which not bad repeat possibilities of the web client of Gmail.

Notes