Google Apps vs. Microsoft: If You Can’t Take the Heat...
Posted by Jon Deliz on Wed, Dec 01, 2010 @ 10:00 AM
In October of 1990, the business world was changed forever with the introduction of Microsoft Office, a bundle of software that could handle word processing, and spreadsheet and presentation creation. In the last two decades, there have been a variety of other software solutions that sought to contend with this bastion of competition crushers, but none came close to the software giant’s widespread applications. Now, I don’t want to go out on a limb here and say that Microsoft cornered the market or anything (ahem…anyone up for a game of Monopoly™?) but the fact stands that no other suite of office products have as many toe-holds in the business industry as Microsoft Office does. But as Bob Dylan so succinctly put it, “the times, they are a-changing”.
The days of the standard watery gruel that Microsoft dishes up is over. There’s a new chef in this kitchen, and it’s called Google Apps. Let’s face it, the bread and butter of the American diet is convenience, and that’s really where Google Apps are going to add some fresh flavor into the everyday workplace.
Now I have to hand it to Google…they are being extremely clever in their marketing campaign of Google Apps, describing it as a “complement to Microsoft Office”, but let’s see past that and call a spade a spade. The tools that are combined in Google’s suite of products are strong enough to stand on their own, and once a company is fully integrated with it, why would they ever need to go back to using Microsoft Office? No doubt, the heads of Microsoft are sitting somewhere in a corner, biting their nails and cursing the name of Eric Schmidt, all the while planning their strategies and lawsuits like a pack of angry dogs.
Google has a chance here to do something that many other companies have tried to do and failed…a chance to offer us, as the consumers, a choice. Call me unconventional, but I like the ability to have a choice between steak or fish. I like to choose the car I drive, and the manner in which I drive it. I don’t like being held hostage at my computer when trying to e-mail a document, only to find out that the .doc file I created isn’t compatible with their version of Office, because the company is on a budget and can’t afford the upgrade charges.
With Google Apps, I can create documents and edit them seamlessly while my co-workers also work on the same file in real-time, all without a single change being lost. I can share my files, manage my calendar, and collaborate on projects with ease, all the while incorporating updates and modifications from my teammates. And with the Premier Edition available at just $50 per user for a whole year, I don’t have to worry about selling my firstborn to pay the over inflated prices of the Microsoft Office standard.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m a walking advertisement for Google. It’s true that I’m an avid fan of their solutions, but I don’t jump on every Google bandwagon (ahem…do you hear a Buzz?). But what really tickles my fancy and gives me goose bumps is the fact that the face of the workplace is on the verge of change…and change is what keeps this world turning.