Microsoft Office 365 vs Google Apps for Business A publication by
Is this ebook right for me? Not quite sure if this ebook is right for you? See the below description to determine if your level matches the content you are about to read. Introductory Introductory content is for those who are new to the subject of Cloud Computing. This content typically includes information about the IT, financial, productivity and collaboration challenges you may be facing and introduces you to the world of Cloud Computing; what it is and how it works. After reading it, you will understand the basics of Cloud Computing and begin to understand how it could help with some of the challenges you re facing. this ebook! Intermediate Intermediate content is for those who are familiar with the subject but have only basic experience in executing strategies and tactics on the topic. This content typically covers the fundamentals and moves on to reveal more complex functions and examples. After reading it, you will feel comfortable using the technology and begin to reap the benefits it offers. Advanced Advanced content is for those who are, or want to be, experts on the subject. In it, we walk you through advanced features and help you develop complete mastery of the subject. After reading it, you will feel ready not only to execute strategies and tactics, but also to teach others how to be successful. 2
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We have previously compared the differences between these two solutions, but, as with progress in technology there must be updates to such comparisons and we feel it s time again to compare Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. The most important thing to be aware of when comparing Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 is that they are, in essence, very different. How? Google Apps was purpose built, from the ground up as a 100% webbased business productivity and collaboration solution while Microsoft took their very successful business products and added web-based tools and access to form Office 365. Why does that matter? It matters because it means the fundamental principals of the 2 offerings are very different - this reflects in the technical abilities of the solutions, the uptime guarantees, the levels and types of collaboration possible and the architecture that they sit on. Both solutions offer different things to different organisations. Apps offers affordable collaboration, flexibility and freedom to focus on your core business while Office 365 offers more expensive, tried and tested products with anywhere access. The solution you choose will essentially be down to what you value and what suits your unique requirements. In this post we will compare the 2 across a variety of categories and leave the decision up to you. Let s get started. Please note: In all comparisons we are comparing Google Apps for Business to Microsoft s recommended package for a Midsize organisation Office 365 Midsize Business. 4
What do you actually get for your money? What are the costs involved? Google Apps for Business is a device agnostic solution that gives you all of this on your own domain: Gmail Calendar Drive (online storage) Docs (Docs, Slides, Sheets & Forms Hangouts (video conferencing) Sites (website development) Google Apps Web Store All Docs can be shared with absolutely anyone (even if they don t have a Google Apps or Gmail account) and you can work together, online in the same docs at the same time. You also get access to free Apps through the Google Apps Marketplace. $50.00 per user per year (PUPY) Optional $50.00 extra per user for unlimited archiving of email messages. That s it. One cost (the same cost) for everyone. It depends on the package you buy. A typical Midsize recommended package gives you: Latest desktop version of Office* Web-based access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote Email through Outlook File sharing through SkyDrive Pro Web conferencing *Office applications include: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, Lync, InfoPath It s important to note that Office 365 only works if you have the desktop version of Office installed. Variety of pricing plans depending on your business size: Small - max 25 users Cost: $150.00 (PUPY) Midsize - max 300 users Cost: $180.00 (PUPY) Enterprise - unlimited Cost: $240.00 (PUPY) What you actually get for your money differs depending on the package you buy. *Microsoft s recommended packages quoted 5
Essential Difference - how cloud is your cloud? STRUCTURE Google Apps is 100% web-based and purpose built for the cloud. It offers true multi-tenant, scalable architecture. Why does this matter? There is no planned downtime If something happens to 1 data centre, you will not lose any data or access to that data The solution was not built expressly for the cloud and as such, Exchange Online is essentially hosted exchange in a Microsoft data centre that still needs updates, patches and hot fixes. Why does this matter? Planned downtime exists for Microsoft to do updates, patches and hot fixes During setup you choose one primary data centre for your system to be based in, removing the ability to benefit from a multi-tenant approach. i.e. If something happens to that datacentre you could potentially lose access to your information System Availability Transparency As part of their SLA, Google has no scheduled downtime and recently announced an uptime figure of 99.983% for 2012. What is this in actual downtime time over a 1 year period? 44 minutes The Google Apps Status Dashboard is available online for everyone to see - even non-paying customers. This is a live, realtime global performance dashboard giving a very accurate view of the current and historical status of the service. Great for solution decision makers to get a full view of the solution they are buying into. According to calculations done by Cloud Sherpas, Microsoft Office 365 incident reports show a 97.929% uptime rate for a specific period in 2012. What is this in actual downtime time over a 1 year period? 3 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes Microsoft Office also has a status dashboard, but it s only available to paying customers, and even then, only the domain administrator. This restricts the information available to key business decision makers. 6
Software Version Control Accessing your work Email There is no software to update. Updates are released centrally and then immediately and automatically available to any user the next time they log in. No downloads. Just refresh your browser. Online: google.com/a/your-domain through any browser Apps: Apps available for your device Bottom line: Access anytime, anywhere, on any device. Note: The license is per user, regardless of the number of devices they use. THE PRODUCTS Gmail: 30 GB of unified storage to use as you like between Drive, Gmail and photos uploaded to Google+ larger than 2048px. Files created in Docs, Sheets and Slides don t count against your storage quota. Web browser access Updates are automatic so you will always have the latest desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, and Lync. The downloads install across all your devices - no need to uninstall old versions. Online: login.microsoftonline.com/login. srf through any browser Apps: Office mobile app available on Windows phone, available through the web browser on other operating systems Install Office on up to 5 of your PCs, Macs, or tablets, and transfer the installation to new devices whenever you need to Stream Office to any Internet-connected PC running Windows 7 or 8 with Office on Demand Bottom line: Access anytime, anywhere, any device - as long as they have Office 7 upwards installed. Outlook: 25GB Mailbox Access from desktop or web browser using Outlook Web App Shared Calendars Yes Yes Form/Survey Tool Yes - Google Forms No 7
Video Conferencing Website or project site development tool Yes through Google+ Hangouts (included for free). Screensharing: Yes Private and Public Hangouts available - read more Private - up to 15 participants Public - 100% public streamed live through your YouTube Channel and Google+ page, no restriction to the number of viewers Yes. Google Sites [10 things you didn t know about Google Sites] Yes through Lync Online There are 2 packages available, one for peer-to-peer IM and second to allow meetings/conferences. Screen sharing: Yes Up to 250 participants inside and outside of your organisation Note: Lync Online has to be purchased separately to benefit from these features Yes. Instant Messaging and chat Online Storage Yes. Integrated across all products - even Docs. You can also send text messages, start video conferences and call mobile and landline numbers from Google Chat. Online Storage: Drive 30 GB of unified storage to use as you like between Drive, Gmail and photos uploaded to Google+ larger than 2048px. Files created in Docs, Sheets and Slides don t count against your storage quota. Web browser access [Drive vs DropBox] If more storage is required is can easily be purchased Install Google Drive on multiple devices and sync for offline access Offline access also available Yes. Online Storage: SkyDrive Pro 7GB of online storage 7GB is free and you cannot increase this at all Syncs with PC for offline access 8
Documents, sharing & collaboration The document experience Online Sharing: Docs Docs = Docs, Slides, Sheets and Forms Create your doc online, share it with whoever you want to (various access levels available) and then work with them in the same doc together, at the same time You can also upload Microsoft files and convert them to gdoc file types (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) Create, view and edit docs, sheets and slides online and through Apps. Gives you the tools you need, slides, sheets and docs Very easy to get started, share and collaborate with others Formatting tools very basic - but high levels of integration with other products makes up for it Sharing permission level options mean you can choose what you share with who, and who can either view, comment or edit Anyone (even without a Gmail or Apps account) can view a document - a minimum requirement of a Gmail account is required to edit a document Online Sharing: SharePoint Online Share docs with others and control who can see and edit each file Store team documents in SharePoint and edit them from Outlook using a single project-specific mailbox Users cannot edit the same document at the same time - there is a check in/ check out procedure in place View and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents online and with Windows Phone. Use the Lync and OneNote Mobile apps on most devices. All the tools you need and a few extra You can share with others, but not work with them at the same time in the same documents Formatting tools far more advanced You can only share with those that have the same solution - not everyone Document version control You can easily access revision history from the File menu in Google Docs Check-out/in system for document control and revision history 9
Setup ADMINISTRATION More straightforward in terms of setup and overall management (many small business users may never have come across SharePoint and Lync) No legacy investment so easy to migrate Installed base is massive and Windows focused IT administrators will find the core setup and operational options both familiar and fairly pleasing In Summary Both services offer similar products at the end of the day so it really boils down to what is of specific interest to your business. If you want a product that gives you 99% of what you need for significantly less money and is truly flexible and scalable than Google Apps is the solution for you. But if you need that 1% of extra functionality and you ll benefit from the advanced set of features (and you re prepared to pay a premium for it) then you should consider Office 365. 10
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