Keeping Score: Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office 365 in Business, Gov’t
Put another check in the Google Apps wins column in the ongoing battle between the incumbent office software provider, Microsoft, and its up-and-coming cloud-based competitor.
The Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Apps war continues to escallate. Amid the ongoing battle, it seems like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is enjoying particularly strong momentum in the government market — even though Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to insist that Google Apps is not a serious business alternative to Office 365 and Office 2013.
Originally seen as simple office productivity software for small businesses and startups, Google Apps has been putting the boots to Microsoft in both the enterprise space and the government vertical — both on features and on pricing. A New York Times article noted that Google has made plenty of wins, even if just based on simplified and cheaper pricing, in the enterprise space, edging Microsoft out of a lot of deals.
In the public sector space, Google is also shining. The article points to General Services Administration data from 2012 that shows of 42 federal government contracts that both Microsoft and Google competed for during the year, Google had more than twice the success than Microsoft. Of the deals, 23 were won by Google and 10 by Microsoft. That leaves on more player picking up the remaining nine deals, though. VMware-owned Zimbra wasn’t far behind Microsoft in its share of the wins, and it seems there’s evidence to suggest Zimbra is picking up pace as a viable alternative to both Microsoft and Google.
As sister site The VAR Guy noted, Zimbra is a surprising victor in many of these federal government deals and is further proof that hype only goes so far. It’s important to dig a bit deeper and really understand what customers want in their private and public cloud services. Channel partners, take note.
Still, the Times article indicates Microsoft isn’t all that concerned about its competitors, but based on the numbers, maybe it should be. It’s unlikely that Google and Zimbra, separate or combined, are going to topple the business that Bill Gates built. It is still the dominant office productivity tool, particularly for on-premise deployments, but in the cloud space — even in the enterprise and public sector markets — Microsoft can’t claim to be the be-all and end-all.
Will 2013 see Microsoft lose ground in these two markets to the up-and-coming Zimbra? Only the next 12 months will tell.
VMware Zimbra is the real
VMware Zimbra is the real news here, they have a very competitive platform and one that MSPs can truly manage, Zimbra is moving from a interesting open source project into a real alternative.
I agree that Zimbra is the
I agree that Zimbra is the news here. We covered that angle a bit on our sister site, The VAR Guy.
-jp
yeah, had seen that article
yeah, had seen that article and it is really spot on, hats off to you guys!
We appreciate your readership
We appreciate your readership across our sites. But more than that: I value your comments. Our team enjoys the interaction. Keep us posted as you make your own business moves.
The article is so misleading.
The article is so misleading. There is NO comparison between OFFICE 365 and GOOG Apps.
Almost all MAJOR cities and states use Office 365: New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Minnesota and the ENTIRE state of California.
The only big city that uses GOOG APPS is LOS ANGELES — and it is now SUING Google for refund for no non compliance with contractual obligations.
http://betanews.com/2011/10/20/los-angeles-wants-refund-for-google-apps/
The other cities that use Goog Apps are tiny: Orlando, Pittsburgh, etc ..
In public education, the BIG ones also OFFICE 365. The entire State University of New York (700,000) use MS OFFICE.
It is true more Federal agencies that use GOOG Apps — but the BIG ones use Office 365. For example, the Dept of Interior (80,000) uses Goog Apps, but the Dept of VA (600,000) uses Office 365.
Google has history of exaggerating and distorting facts to make it’s numbers look better. It likes to boast that its Google+ active users are same Facebook. But the reality is very different.
It is unfortunate that article like this is perpetuating the Google Myth.
JCTMPT: Thanks for your note.
JCTMPT: Thanks for your note. We do welcome constructive criticism such as yours. While I don’t have exact stats I do believe Google Apps is winning its share of government deals. By the way: Whom do you represent? A Microsoft partner? Customer? Microsoft itself?
-jp
Hi Joe:
I am not Microsoft
Hi Joe:
I am not Microsoft partner, not an employee, and nor a shareholder. However, I am a “consumer” of both MSFT and GOOG products. I use Excel, MS Powerpoint, Gmail, and Google Apps. I work for large Fortune 500 companies. I do fairly sophisticated spreadsheet applications (eg. VBA). I am therefore intimately aware of the limitiations of both MS OFFICE and Google Apps. I live in NJ and work in NY.
As I pointed out, most of the larger cities partners with MSFT for highly sensitive projects. For instance, the New York Police Department partnered with MSFT to build a sophisticated surveillance system.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/nypd-domain-awareness-surveillance-system-built-microsoft_n_1759976.html
In contrast, GOOG could not even implement the mailing system for the Los Angeles Police Department. As you may know, the city of Los Angeles is asking Google to refund fees for non-fulfillment of contractual obligations. (Google it)
It is true, however, that many government agencies and cities use Google Apps. But these are very small and unsophisticated agencies. For example, Google supplies email system for tiny Orlando with 3,000 employees
You may therefore be right that “Google Apps is winning its share of government deals”. You may say that Google Apps clients include Orlando and Pittsburg. But how do you compare those 2 tiny cities with New York and Chicago??
If you work for Fortune 500 companies, large pharmaceutical or financial firms, you will understand there is NO comparison between MSFT and GOOG in enterprise. MSFT system is in 5,000,000 FORD vehicles. MSFTsoftware is in all TOYOTA cars. Goldman Sachs, Merck, Johnson and Johnson — they ALL use MSFT.
Google Apps is mostly used by small “mom and pop” shops who requires simple tools. There are millions of these small business. But in terms of actual “end users”, there is just no comparison between MSFT and GOOG.
JCTMPT: Thanks for returning
JCTMPT: Thanks for returning to the conversation and adding deeper perspectives. Your thoughts make it sound like Microsoft is the clear winner here. I’m not so sure — but I do respect the fact that you’re hands-on with these solutions, and we’ll keep your views in mind as we plan future content. Thanks for your readership and for taking the time to share your views.
-jp