Microsoft’s plan to launch a cloud-based version of its Office suite of programmes has been attacked by Google. The new Microsoft product, called Office 365 and launching tomorrow, is the subject of a Google Enterprise blog post called “365 reasons to consider Google Apps”.
Office 365 will offer users online access to programmes including Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as Exchange, Lync and SharePoint at a range of different prices, starting at $72. Google Apps costs $50 per year.
Although Google has been running its Apps programmes for four years, analysts believe Microsoft’s existing user-base and familiarity will make the new product popular. Last year, Office made a $10.2billion profit for Microsoft. Google claims 18million users pay to use Google Apps, but will not disclose the level of profitability.
Shan Sinha, Google Apps Product Manager, wrote that “Tomorrow Microsoft is launching Office 365. Many of you have asked for our perspective, so we thought we’d share some thoughts to help you make an informed choice. “ He goes on to suggest that “Office 365 is for individuals. Apps is for teams” and that with Google Apps “you don’t need to buy additional licenses to work with others, or hope people outside your company have upgraded to the same software. If you have a Google account, you can collaborate”.
Perhaps most scathingly, Sinha claimed that “Office 365 is built for Microsoft. Apps is built for choice. Office 365 is optimized for Windows-based PCs and devices, which reduces your flexibility. Our applications are designed to work well on any device, on any operating system. Desktop, laptop, Chromebook, tablet, smartphone. Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows Mobile. Edit on the go. Share from anywhere.” Although Microsoft’s Office 365 can be accessed from devices other than a PC, Google claims it is not optimised for them.
Google also played up the single price it charges for Apps, compared to Microsoft’s range of prices., and said “You can't just take legacy, desktop software, move some of it to a data center and call it "cloud." Apps was born for the web and we've been serving hundreds of millions of users for years”.
Google has routinely cited major organisations that have ‘Gone Google’, including groups as diverse as InterContinental Hotels, this newspaper and the state of Wyoming.
Microsoft, however, is bullish about its chances.
Kurt DelBene, President of Microsoft’s Office division, told the Telegraph earlier in the year that “I think you’ll see us continue with that subscription version of Office, Office365, and our vision is ultimately all of our products will be consumed via cloud based services. The only question is how quickly that transformation happens.” He denied that the business would suffer because of Google’s “first-mover advantage”.
Office 365 will offer users online access to programmes including Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as Exchange, Lync and SharePoint at a range of different prices, starting at $72. Google Apps costs $50 per year.
Although Google has been running its Apps programmes for four years, analysts believe Microsoft’s existing user-base and familiarity will make the new product popular. Last year, Office made a $10.2billion profit for Microsoft. Google claims 18million users pay to use Google Apps, but will not disclose the level of profitability.
Shan Sinha, Google Apps Product Manager, wrote that “Tomorrow Microsoft is launching Office 365. Many of you have asked for our perspective, so we thought we’d share some thoughts to help you make an informed choice. “ He goes on to suggest that “Office 365 is for individuals. Apps is for teams” and that with Google Apps “you don’t need to buy additional licenses to work with others, or hope people outside your company have upgraded to the same software. If you have a Google account, you can collaborate”.
Google also played up the single price it charges for Apps, compared to Microsoft’s range of prices., and said “You can't just take legacy, desktop software, move some of it to a data center and call it "cloud." Apps was born for the web and we've been serving hundreds of millions of users for years”.
Google has routinely cited major organisations that have ‘Gone Google’, including groups as diverse as InterContinental Hotels, this newspaper and the state of Wyoming.
Microsoft, however, is bullish about its chances.
Kurt DelBene, President of Microsoft’s Office division, told the Telegraph earlier in the year that “I think you’ll see us continue with that subscription version of Office, Office365, and our vision is ultimately all of our products will be consumed via cloud based services. The only question is how quickly that transformation happens.” He denied that the business would suffer because of Google’s “first-mover advantage”.
