Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365

Since our company is structured around Google Workspace at the moment, it is well suited for our entire workflow. I do have concerns though, for when it comes time for our company to have our own intranet built and how well the data migration will be from Google Workspace to that intranet that gets built.

Incentivized

Microsoft 365 is well-suited for:Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs): Microsoft 365 offers a cost-effective solution for SMBs to access a suite of essential productivity tools without the need for extensive IT infrastructure. It provides a wide range of applications, allowing teams to collaborate, communicate, and manage documents efficiently.Remote Work and Collaboration: Microsoft 365's cloud-based nature makes it ideal for remote work scenarios. With tools like Microsoft Teams, employees can easily communicate, hold video conferences, and collaborate on projects in real-time, regardless of their location.Microsoft 365 may be less appropriate for:Organizations with Specific Software Requirements: Some organizations may have specialized software needs that are not met by Microsoft 365. In such cases, they may require industry-specific software or custom solutions.Limited Internet Connectivity: Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based platform, which means a stable internet connection is essential for optimal functionality. Organizations with poor internet connectivity might face challenges using the cloud-based applications effectively.

• Google's service integration is seamless. Sharing files and documents with team members and clients couldn't be simpler. We can limit file sharing and access as needed.
• As expected, Google Workspace integrates perfectly with Android phones allowing for a seamless mobile experience. Integration with iOS is also good.
• Spam protection is second to none. I cannot remember ever finding a spam message in my inbox!
• Google has a good reputation for email deliverability making it less likely your outbound mail ends up in someone's spam folder.
• Google Workspace allows you to host multiple domains and alias domains on your account.
• There is a robust set of tools to allow routing of mail to different mailboxes.
• Collaboration is so easy with Workplace. Real time editing of documents is flawless. When chatting with collaborators, I can see their changes as they make them with no delay.

• keeps me extremely organized. It is so easy to link calendars, emails, and documents.
• keeps me well connected. It is so easy to send a quick message on teams or send an email to a group (for example, my particular team within the company).
• easy to use. Everything is straightforward, making it easy to find an answer to a question. There is even a search option to figure out how to do something within Microsoft.

• I have several Workspace accounts, and it can be kind of annoying to switch between them. For example, if I click in my work email but my Chrome defaults to my personal Workspace, I have to open the file differently or log in and out of the other account.
• Meet is my least favorite feature. I find it very subpar to Zoom in both ease and picture resolution. It's harder to tell when you're sharing your screen and you can't see comments if you're presenting.
• Google My Business can be difficult to navigate. I frequently forget where features are and have to hunt around for them.

Incentivized

• Microsoft 365 really needs to work on protection part. In complex environment it is not reliable as compared to its competitors like Proofpoint. There are many instances where it fails to perform effectively.
• In SharePoint Online the versioning feature of the document needs to be improved by Microsoft. Sometimes when we have to roll back to the previous version it does not work as expected.
• In Teams messaging and app permission policies can be improved. There are some settings where we have to add a lot of things manually.

There is no better solution for cloud storage and real time collaboration. The amount of features included in G Suite is unmatched and out of other things we’ve tried over the years, nothing comes close to being as great of a tool.

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There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.

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On the user end, it's great, probably some of the most user friendly products out there. On the admin side, it can get a little more arcane, but it's still better than a lot of other services. At worst I wrangle some CSVs to perform mass changes, but it's a far cry from the days of Powershell scripts or purely manual entry.

Incentivized

The interface of the different tools (this suite has MANY different tools) is usually simple to use and intuitive, and you can always re-arrange and add or remove the task you use most frequently from the menus and task bars.

Each tool / product includes a lot of features that may require a more intensive learning, but usually Office 365 tools are simple to learn from scratch, adding more knowledge as you required more advanced features

Incentivized

My experiences of getting support have been positive. Calling in is not overly difficult, but it does require getting a PIN. The knowledge of those responding to the calls has been impressive. I have managed to work with them to fix two Google bugs that I had identified. These bugs required a some technical expertise and the support staff were able to understand the issue and forward the concerns to the appropriate persons. The first bug was fixed with 24 hours. The second bug took a little longer, but it was also more complicated to reproduce.

Incentivized

Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.

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nothing to say

Everything works and I use it all the time.

Incentivized

They are different. Over the years, one has had better support than the other. Google support is good, there have been times Microsoft support was awful, and times when it was significantly better. For me, Outlook is just a drain on resources. Word is that my primary word processor anyway, so I don't feel like I'm losing much. SharePoint seems capable of a lot, and exchange certainly is capable of a lot, but it requires so much configuration, even for a small business, that return on investment seems quicker and easier with Google Workspace. For those who absolutely need a completely Microsoft environment, Office 365 has that, Google Workspace does not. Still, I prefer Google Workspace over Office 365.

Incentivized

Google Sheets is better for sharing and collaborative editing. Versioning of the same file is also one of Google Sheets strong points.

Microsoft 365 is better for working with local files. It is much easier to store the file in multiple places and backup multiple versions in multiple places.

LibreOffice is free but the usage is much counter intuitive than Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is worse when it comes to UI.

Microsoft Excel's performance with larger files is much better. When opening huge files, excel loads it asynchronously and I can start working right away.

• Zero to no time managing tools allows us to focus on work saving us time and money
• Google Workspace allowed us to seamlessly transition to a fully remote workforce when the Coronavirus pandemic started - no lost time or productivity.
• Easily able to extend our workspace and add features, e.g. Voice, saving us time implementing other services.

Incentivized

• Positively, it has increased productivity and efficiency in creating templates and being able to systemize some of the protocols we are working on putting into place.
• It has been a positive as well as most individuals and companies that we associate with also use MicroSoft 365 and therefore there is no need to have formats change in our documents when they open them up using another type of program.
• Getting work done quickly.... One and Done!!!

Incentivized