Choosing platform: Google Apps vs. Office 365 The two most common platforms are Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. While both platforms are

similar in the functions they offer, there are important differences for a business to consider when

making a decision.

Office 365 Microsoft’s suite of cloud-based productivity software was released in 2011. Microsoft is the more

seasoned player in the business-software world, but late to the cloud game.

Pros: Office 365 offers a large menu of options for companies that include varying levels of cloud and

local software suites. While this may allow for flexibility, it can be confusing for a business that wants a

solid collaboration suite with a simple billing structure.

Users know where all the buttons are when using Office, and that has great value to a business that

wants to minimize disruption.

The model Microsoft has created results in businesses paying a fixed fee per month to get access to

cloud versions of their productivity suite as well as licensing for local versions of their Office software.

This could be a great choice for companies looking to have a predictable software-purchase budget.

Cons: After launch, Office 365 had uptime issues. According to a study done by Cloud Sherpas, for a 151-

day timeframe in early 2013, the system experienced 4,503 minutes of downtime, which translates to a

97.93 percent uptime for users. Conversely, Google Apps experienced 44 minutes of downtime, which

translates to a 99.98 percent uptime for users. That means there were 113 minutes of downtime on

Office 365 for every minute of downtime on Google. Microsoft has made major investments in stability

since the initial launch. However, it’s unlikely that it will be able to catch up to the uptime levels of the

Google platform.

Microsoft tools are notoriously unstable on Apple computers compared with their Windows

counterparts. The 2016 version of Office for Mac speaks to this disparity, but it’s too soon to know for

sure how well this new version of Office 365 will play with Macs.

Google Apps for Work Google was born in the cloud. Because of this, many of the web-based productivity tools offered by

Google are more robust than the corresponding Office 365 tools.

Pros: Google tools will integrate more effectively with Apple software. Google also has a sync tool that

allows Outlook for Windows to sync data with Google Apps for Work (email, calendars and contacts).

Google currently has more than 5 million organizations on its email, calendar, contact and document

collaboration suite. This includes some high-profile companies such as D-Link, the State of Colorado and

BBVA.

The software integration ecosystem for Google Apps for Work is very rich. A company can find

everything from Customer Relationship Management systems to email marketing platforms that

integrate with Google open API.

Studies have shown that organizations see significant productivity gains by moving over to the Google

Apps for Work suite. Companies will have to deal with the learning curve of getting teams to collaborate

in a new ecosystem that is fully browser-based.

Cons: There is a learning curve to getting a team moved over to Google Apps for Work. For those deeply

embedded in the Outlook philosophy of email management, this transition causes some temporary pain.

Training is critical to ensure all employees know how to use these new tools most effectively.

Privacy From a privacy perspective, the two companies are similar in the way they deal with user data. Both

companies give you the ability to download and delete your data from their servers. Google is more

restrictive about giving data to governmental authorities when requested. If privacy is important to your

company, take the time to read the Terms of Service for both services.

Summary A company might make the email hosting decision based on the type of computers it uses. Apple shops

should strongly consider Google Apps for Work. Microsoft-based offices can go either way, but if

wanting to have those productivity tools function seamlessly in the desktop environment, then Office

365 will be the better choice.