Business productivity software must meet many requirements. It must fit into the corporate culture, be secure, and have all the features you desire. When making this choice, you quickly end up with two major Tech companies, namely Google and Microsoft.
At first glance, the packages from both providers look very similar. This is because they are both office packages, but choosing which one you should go for can be difficult. If you are in doubt between Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) or Microsoft 365 (once Office 365), I will take a closer look at the two and explain the differences for you. Finally, I will summarize the conclusion so you can decide which product suits you best. There is no winner; the products are too different
Microsoft 365 is currently the most widely used Office package in the business world and is known to everyone. However, Google has stepped into the ring from a different starting point with web-based working as the basis, focusing on digital collaboration.
Microsoft 365 is now more than 25 years old, and Google Workspace has been around for 10 years. However, whereas Microsoft primarily focused on IT, Google immediately aimed its spears at web-based work and is ahead of Microsoft in this area.
More big names are choosing to switch from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace. Think of companies like : Randstad, Coolblue, PWC, Schiphol, Booking.com, Boeing, Carrefour, Decathlon, Spotify, Netflix and Twitter. These companies have worked with Google Workspace for years and have not taken any chances. They thoroughly researched both Microsoft 365 (or were already using it) and Google Workspace
Online versus offline
The most significant overall difference between the two productivity software is the web-based vs. desktop application. Google Workspace is only usable through web-based tools optimized for use with Google Chrome (it also works with other internet browsers, but sometimes with reduced functionality). In contrast, Microsoft 365, on the other hand, offers both web-based and desktop applications
Using programs that you can download provides the advantage of being able to use them offline. Because web technology has developed enormously over the past 10 years, it is now possible to work web-based. (Web-based working means nothing else than the applications are available in a web browser). Large web applications have now demonstrated no limit to the complexity of applications that can run in a web browser. The advantage of working web based is that you are no longer dependent on a device. You can work from any location and on any device, which gives you enormous freedom and ease of use. It also does not matter what operating system the computer is running. This may be Windows, Linux, MacOS or ChromeOS, it all works the same, and it looks the same.
Except for some mobile apps, Google does not offer any downloadable programs. So if you want to do some word processing, or create emails or spreadsheets, you always have to do this in a web browser.
Microsoft, as mentioned, offers both web-based applications and downloadable applications. Microsoft’s downloadable applications are more powerful across the board than web-based applications. Overall, Microsoft’s applications are all slightly more advanced and offer more features than Google’s
However, you should ask yourself whether you need these functionalities and whether this does not make an application (unnecessarily) complex. It is also essential to offer the downloadable applications in the right way and also to update them. Applications that are not updated pose a security risk. Web based applications are always the latest version
When we look at email, you use the widely known Gmail with Google and Outlook with Microsoft 365. In terms of security, both email services are well protected against malware and have well-functioning spam filtering.
The two significant differences are mainly the user interface and available storage space. With Gmail Basic Accounts, you share your storage space with the files in Google Drive. This is about a size of 30 GB. With Microsoft 365, you get more storage space in your mailbox when we look at a starter package. Here the limit is 50 or 100 GB (depending on the plan chosen). When you choose an Enterprise plan here, no more limit is applicable. The space of the mailbox at Microsoft is separate from the storage you have as a user to store documents, while at Google, this is the same storage space.
Microsoft has expanded Outlook over the years with a huge number of features. Unfortunately, all these possibilities make for a confusing interface that quickly frightens the basic user. On the other hand, it is, of course, a powerful and robust email application that has already proven itself.
Another advantage is that Outlook has contacts and a calendar built in. That makes composing emails, making appointments in calendars, and the like a little easier. With Google, these are separate apps (Calendar and Contacts)
Gmail aims for a friendly and straightforward interface that everyone can find their way around. Mails are easily organized, making it easy to keep track of mail exchanges. The software also has a strong spam filter built in by default that learns from the user’s actions. In addition, “searching” your mailbox works better with Google than with Microsoft. This is mainly due to the use of the available capacity online and therefore not dependent on the storage capacity and performance of the local device.
Behind the friendly face is therefore a powerful engine that offers many features. Not nearly as many as Outlook, but thanks to additions from the Google Workspace Marketplace, these can be expanded as desired. Be careful which extensions you install because not all of them are safe to use.
Documents
With the Google Workspace packages, you can use Google Docs for word processing. Microsoft 365 has the well-known Microsoft Word in its place. Both word processing software has advantages and disadvantages, which are more critical for some. Microsoft Word is familiar to everyone and will need little explanation; Google Docs looks a little fresher and simpler and less impressive.
Microsoft Word offers more advanced options as opposed to Google Docs. In addition, Word is the better option when you want to use the software in an offline mode
What is experienced well with Google Docs is the ease of sharing documents with colleagues. With a few clicks, you add your colleagues to documents. In addition, there is a clear overview of the documents shared by and with you. In doing so, you retain control over who can edit the document and who can only view it. Microsoft Word also offers this functionality, although it is a bit more cumbersome.
Microsoft Word is the standard in the market for many companies and users. Several companies also use add-ins for, for example, default styling and macros. Google does not offer this possibility.
Spreadsheets
There are no huge differences when we look at Google Sheets vs. Microsoft Excel. Both have the most important features that such a tool needs. However, some differences can be mentioned that can make or break the choice for one or the other. First, as highlighted earlier, Google Sheets is a web-based tool and therefore, not available offline.
Google Sheets allows you to collaborate online more efficiently than Microsoft Excel (which uses Teams for this underwater). In addition, Google Sheets has an embedded chat feature that makes collaborating with colleagues easier than Microsoft Excel
On the other hand, Excel has two crucial advantages when the tool is used for larger companies. First, excel has more visualization features and can handle much larger amounts of data. Whereas Google Sheets slows down as the data increases, Excel maintains its speed.
If you often work with templates, it is helpful to know that Excel excels in this. Microsoft Excel contains a lot more options than Sheets. However, 95% of users will not experience any difference between the two products. However, they both work slightly differently, and it can sometimes take time to find your way around.
PowerPoint versus Slides
At this point, there is a clear winner: PowerPoint. Slides in no way comes close to the ease in which you create presentations and add documents and multimedia in PowerPoint.
There have been other products in the past that have tried (think Prezi, for example), but they didn’t make it in the end. Microsoft currently sets the standard in the market with PowerPoint.
Slides also have a limited number of functions, meaning that you can only use them to make simple presentations.
Yet there is one thing in which Slides excels: online collaboration. The built-in chat function and the ability to make real-time changes make collaborating with colleagues easy. So if you do not have extreme demands, Slides will do just fine. Although PowerPoint is the standard in the market
Teams versus Meet
The software for online meetings is very “hot” nowadays in relation to the pandemic. The software both parties provide for online meetings is exactly what you expect: you can use it to hold meetings via video calls. Both offer almost the same functionality.
Yet there are also differences. Compared to Microsoft Teams, Google Meet is not as tightly woven as the rest of the package. Teams, for example, take into account meetings that are indicated in Outlook and automatically synchronizes them. Also, users are set to “busy” if they are in a meeting and therefore cannot be disturbed. In addition, Teams makes it easy to share documents via the program itself.
Since the pandemic, Microsoft has put an extreme amount of time into developing Teams, and it shows. Customers have been listened to, and competitors have been watched. Many features from competitors have also been integrated into Microsoft Teams. The downloadable version of Teams (with the full feature set) does require more from the system than the web-based version of Teams and Google Meet. Users regularly complain that their device does not have enough capacity to open one or more other applications in addition to conducting a video call
Google Meet does what it’s supposed to do, and not unimportantly, the picture quality of Meet is also better than that of Teams.
Another essential thing to know is that Teams and Meet are not compatible. So as a Teams user, you can’t video call a Meet user and vice versa. Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, and Windows applications have been developed for both Google Meet as Microsoft Teams.
Security and privacy: is my data safe?
If you choose a package that allows you to work online, you naturally want to be sure that this happens safely. Especially if you work with sensitive (customer) information, that is why it’s important to know how secure Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are.
Google Workspace
As you might expect from an Internet giant, Google has its affairs in order. The Workspace package meets all security standards such as ISO 27001, 27018, SOC 2, SOC 3, HIPAA, FERPA, COPPA, EU Data Protection Directive, and GDPR. So you can rest assured that your data is stored securely.
Where the company physically stores that data, however, is not clear. Google itself decides where to put your data. If you want to be sure that your documents are on European servers, you can indicate this to Google. They will then move your data. Diagnostic data about the use of Workspace (such as device type, location information, and logs) are not included. Google may store that anywhere.
One point to note is that Workspace gives administrators only limited access to the security settings. Therefore, it is impossible to manage users’ rights in detail. On the other hand, the management is relatively simple since you can only choose from “simpler” options.
Finally, Google does not have access to your data to use it for marketing purposes. Google confirms this in the terms and conditions of Workspace.
Microsoft 365
Microsoft gives you more control over the security of your data. It meets almost the same standards as Google (ISO 27001, 27018, SSAE16, SOC1 Type II, SOC2 Type II, FISMA, HIPAA, EU Data Protection Directive, GDPR). Still, a big difference is that the administrator has more options.
Where Google takes on the detailed work to keep management simple, Microsoft gives almost all the power to the (system) administrator. The administrator has access to more than 900 individual settings, allowing you to be more specific about what users can and cannot do. In other words, you can make Microsoft 365 fit your company’s security requirements better.
But there is a “but” to this because Microsoft 365 works with offline software in most cases. This depends on software updates to remain secure. In that area, Microsoft’s package is, therefore, more at risk than Google’s. With Google Workspace, you work with Cloud apps that always have the latest updates. With Microsoft 365 and the use of downloadable apps, that depends (in part) on the software user.
Microsoft is a lot clearer about the location of your data than Google. For example, if you work from EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), then your data is on servers in Austria, Finland, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Funny detail: Microsoft indicates that the performance of Microsoft 365 can be affected by the distance between you and your data. Google claims that the location of data relative to you has no impact on the performance of Workspace
Another key difference between the two packages: security logs. Both providers keep detailed logs of all activity, but their processing is different. Google provides the logs as fixed data that cannot be modified. This way you can always be sure that no one has messed with the logs and you can assume that they are correct
Microsoft is a little looser about this and gives administrators the option of deleting things from the logs to remain more manageable. Of course, this disadvantage is that people can delete unwanted data for whatever reason. In addition, Microsoft offers the possibility to link the data and the services to other Microsoft services (Microsoft Azure, Sentinel).
Prices
Often the cost is the final deciding factor (or it is a significant influence on the choice). The prices between Google and Microsoft’s products are not directly comparable 1:1. Google likes to keep it simple and gives access to all apps with all subscriptions. The difference with Google is mainly in the amount of storage space, the maximum number of users, and the management options.
Microsoft offers (many) more contracts, each with their own application set. In addition, Microsoft discounts people who sign long-term contracts while Google does not.
I’ve decided not to go into too much detail about costs in this article, but I do want to list some of the differences.
Only from the Business standard package of Microsoft 365 you get access to the downloadable applications. So with Business Basic, you have to do with web-based applications with reduced functionality. In this case, Google offers more functionality. However, you can easily scale up or down later if, for example, you no longer want to use downloadable applications.
At Google, you start with 30GB of storage, which is limited. Microsoft offers 1 TB of storage as standard. Google offers extra storage capacity (up to 5 TB) with higher subscriptions. At Microsoft, it is possible to purchase additional storage capacity
Microsoft 365 offers various options for administration and management as well as application distribution to make the system administrator’s life easier. In addition, Microsoft offers more options in the areas of compliance and governance.
Both providers come closest with the Standard versions. These are very similar. Microsoft offers downloadable applications while Google does not. The difference is about 2 euros per month per user. However, at Microsoft, you can also take out an annual subscription; if you choose to do this, the price difference is almost completely eliminated.
If you require the full security suite of products that Microsoft offers and Google does not and the other advanced features, then it is reassuring that Microsoft can serve you. Keep in mind that you have to dig deep for this.
In summary, if your preference is for online collaboration and you do not need in-depth features or downloadable programs, Google will do just fine
However, if your company is already in the Microsoft ecosystem, do you have many power users and you, therefore, want all the advanced features and specific administrator, security, and management capabilities a must then Microsoft 365 is the clear winner
Conclusion
The prices and packages are not directly 1-to-1 comparable. It is therefore advisable to start by looking at which tools add value to your business and which you will be working with the most.
In addition, it is useful to keep in mind everyone’s favorite way of working. For example, do you opt for the simplicity and overview that Google Workspace offers or do you need the stronger computing power and options of Microsoft 365?
Also, consider the effort for user adoption and the management and updates of downloadable applications.
Both products are stable and have more than proven their worth. Finally, I have 2 comments I would like to make. First, the bottleneck is often the internet connection. Working online can be a problem if you have an unstable connection or limited capacity. You don’t have this problem if you can work offline. The disadvantage of downloadable applications is that (as indicated earlier) they have to be packaged, distributed, and updated.
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