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 Channel Futures

Cloud


Google Attacks Microsoft’s Cloud Initiatives

  • Written by Matthew Weinberger 1
  • May 16, 2010
Google continues its public relations assault on Microsoft. The latest move: Dave Girouard, president of Google’s enterprise division, has some harsh words as he derides their Redmond rivals for being slow to adapt to the cloud. But is Girouard correct? Here's some perspective.

Google continues its public relations assault on Microsoft. The latest move: Dave Girouard, president of Google’s enterprise division, has some harsh words as he derides their Redmond rivals for being slow to adapt to the cloud. But is Girouard correct? Here’s some perspective.

First, a tip of the hat to Sharon Gaudin at Computerworld, who scored the interview with Girouard. Girouard opens up with a reiteration of the Google Docs philosophy and their dedication to improving the Apps suite. But it doesn’t take long for Girouard to start talking competition.

Referring to Microsoft as “the gorilla in the market,” Girouard recognized that companies like Cisco and IBM had been making moves into the cloud space, but they’re not competing nearly as directly as Microsoft. He makes the interesting analogy that IBM was the premiere mainframe manufacturer, but that didn’t stop Microsoft from growing as it did — and now there’s a similar opportunity for upstarts to lead the market without having to compete directly with the big boys.

Finally, and most telling, Girouard says that Microsoft is “[dragging] the past along with them,” meaning that users are only going to get hurt by their reluctance to move to new licensing and billing models — not to mention that cloud-based editing using Microsoft’s solutions is “ugly and complex.”

“To get the new Google Apps, what do you have to do? Refresh your browser. That fundamental difference is what will make Google successful against Microsoft,” Girouard told Computerworld.

I’m not going to take sides here. Office Web Apps, which launched as part of Office 2010, is a step in the right direction for Microsoft and it’s going to win over a lot of users. Also, Microsoft Channel Chief Allison Watson has been calling on partners to test Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and Microsoft Windows Azure.

Still, I wonder if Microsoft Office 2010 and Office Web can compete with the $50 per user per year cost (and zero digit infrastructure investment cost) of Google Apps, especially in small businesses. Whether that’s enough to put Google as far ahead as Girouard thinks, only time will tell.

Additional insights from Joe Panettieri. Sign up for MSPmentor’s weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. And follow us via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; and Twitter. Plus, check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com.


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3 comments

  1. Avatar Stuart Crawford May 17, 2010 @ 11:38 am
    Reply

    Matthew…if you look throughout history the guard changes over time. Novell once lead the LAN market, IBM was once a powerhouse in the personal PC market and more examples. Did Microsoft miss the mark 10 years ago with the Internet – Yes they did. Did Google forget to see the relevance in the social web? I think so….Is Google Docs superior to Microsoft Office, not a chance…but $50 a person per year for some may just allow them to look over the shortfalls in the overall product. Is the market changing? For sure, no one wants to pay lofty software licensing expenses anymore…that is just the old school way of doing business. When will the dust settle? Not for a while…

    Stuart Crawford
    Ulistic Inc.
    http://www.ulistic.com

  2. Avatar Joe Panettieri May 18, 2010 @ 2:52 pm
    Reply

    Stuart: Ask me sometime about how I wound up at a Utah Jazz basketball basketball game with the Novell-WordPerfect executive team the night of their merger… Ah, the memories.

    Back to the discussion at hand: I think Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office is a bit like the microwave oven vs. a conventional oven. Microwave ovens are fast and cheap, but they never fully replaced conventional ovens. Instead, the two live side by side — sometimes for over lapping purposes.

    I suspect Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office will continue to coexist for at least a decade or so. A lot of it depends on the next generation of high school and college kids, and their software/SaaS attitudes as they enter the workforce.

  3. Avatar Paul May 18, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta does not run on Firefox, Google Chrome or any browser in Linux.

    OTOH, Google Docs, Zoho, OpenOffice work very nicely in Linux.

    Here is the message I get when I try use Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta in Linux:

    To use Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta, your computer must meet one of the following requirements:
    Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 running on Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Vista. You can download Internet Explorer from the Internet Explorer page.

    Mozilla Firefox running on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X 10.2.x and later. You can download Firefox from the Firefox download page.
    Safari 3 and 4 on Mac OS X 10.2.x and later.

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