What’s the very best workplace suite for enterprise? – Computerworld

As well as, Outlook has a left-hand pane that hyperlinks on to all of the Microsoft 365 apps, and it helps you to hyperlink to a Gmail account so you’ll be able to learn and handle all of your mail accounts immediately inside Outlook. Gmail has no equal.

Outlook is well-known for its complicated interface that bristles with too many options and choices. Nevertheless, the most recent model has been simplified, and though Gmail continues to be far simpler and extra easy to make use of, you received’t end up as simply misplaced in Outlook as you have been prior to now.

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In case your customers need each bell and whistle doable, Outlook gives all of them. For getting issues finished shortly, Gmail is a more sensible choice.

Collaboration: Google Meet, Chat, and Areas vs. Microsoft Groups

As I’ve famous a number of instances on this article, relating to collaborating on paperwork, Google Workspace is way superior to Microsoft 365 — it’s baked proper into the interface, slightly than feeling like an afterthought because it does within the Workplace apps. Every thing is in entrance of you to ask individuals to collaborate, set their collaboration rights, and chat with them whilst you do the work collectively. There’s a deeper studying curve for utilizing collaboration in Workplace, and even if you discover ways to do it, it’s not practically as seamless as within the Google apps.

Working collectively on particular person paperwork is just one a part of the equation, although. In relation to extra advanced, enterprise-wide collaboration options, Microsoft 365 consists of instruments that beat something Google Workspace gives. Microsoft Groups, for instance, combines group chat, on-line conferences, videoconferencing, custom-made workspaces, calendars, and shared group file repositories in a means that’s extra subtle and helpful than something Google has. And Groups has deep ties to the remainder of the Workplace platform, providing easy integration with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive for Enterprise, and extra.

Howard Wen

Groups was included with all M365 enterprise and enterprise plans, however after going through antitrust scrutiny within the European Union, Microsoft unbundled Groups from its M365 enterprise plans, first within the EU and then globally. Enterprise prospects should now purchase Groups beneath a separate license, though it’s nonetheless included with M365 small-business plans.

For its half, Workspace gives Google Meet for videoconferencing and Google Chat for messaging. There’s additionally Areas, a workflow integration and collaboration device that’s obtainable as a part of Google Chat and built-in with Google Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Duties. Areas helps you to create shared workspaces the place you’ll be able to chat, share recordsdata, and assign duties.

These instruments are helpful and simple, though not fairly as highly effective as Microsoft 365’s choices.

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Storage and file sharing: Google Drive vs. Microsoft OneDrive for Enterprise and SharePoint

Each suites include substantial quantities of storage, other than the most cost effective Google Workspace variations, Necessities Starter and Enterprise Starter, which supply solely 15GB and 30GB per individual, respectively. The Enterprise Necessities plan consists of 1TB per consumer, Enterprise Commonplace consists of 2TB per individual, and Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Commonplace, and Enterprise Plus embody 5TB per individual. Enterprise Commonplace and Plus prospects can request extra storage from Google.

Microsoft 365’s small enterprise and lower-tier enterprise plans embody 1TB of storage per consumer, whereas its E3 and E5 plans embody 5TB of storage per consumer. Prospects with E3 and E5 plans can request extra storage from Microsoft. (Subscriptions with fewer than 5 customers get solely 1TB of storage, which might’t be expanded.)

There’s little to distinguish Google Workspace’s and Microsoft 365’s storage-and-shared-documents options from each other. Each Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive for Enterprise combine immediately with their very own workplace suites, and each help you entry the recordsdata on any machine. In Workspace, the recordsdata dwell within the cloud by default slightly than on the units themselves, though you may also retailer them domestically. In Microsoft 365 they sometimes dwell on every machine and likewise within the cloud, and all of it syncs collectively, though you’ve the choice of retaining particular recordsdata and folders cloud-only.

For those who’re apprehensive about offline entry for the cloud-first Google Workspace, it gives administration instruments that permit directors to set whether or not customers can entry their paperwork and use Docs, Sheets, and Slides when their computer systems aren’t linked to the web. The instruments permit admins to put in a coverage on every laptop permitting that entry, or else let every consumer determine whether or not to permit offline entry.

OneDrive has a pleasant function referred to as OneDrive Information on Demand that lets customers determine, on a file-by-file and folder-by-folder foundation, which recordsdata to retailer on particular person units and which to depart within the cloud, though the recordsdata and folders within the cloud are nonetheless obtainable for obtain if you need them on a tool.

Nearly all Microsoft 365 enterprise and enterprise plans additionally embody a free model of Microsoft’s SharePoint service, referred to as SharePoint On-line. SharePoint On-line provides substantial options to storage and sharing. It manages and organizes paperwork, workflows, and different shared info, sometimes by way of a collection of mini-sites.

SharePoint On-line is delivered as a service and is hosted by Microsoft, so companies don’t have to buy and handle their very own servers and infrastructure for it. Nevertheless, they might want admins to deal with a lot of SharePoint On-line duties, corresponding to content material administration and portal design.

There’s additionally a for-pay model of SharePoint, referred to as SharePoint Server, that’s obtainable beneath a separate license and isn’t included as a part of Microsoft 365. With SharePoint Server, your corporation hosts and manages the bodily and software program infrastructure required for SharePoint. Meaning performing duties corresponding to racking servers; making use of safety patches and have updates; and monitoring uptime, reliability, and safety. With SharePoint On-line, these duties are dealt with by Microsoft.

Google doesn’t supply a real equal to SharePoint On-line in Google Workspace. Subscribers to the Enterprise, Schooling, and Enterprise plans can use a function referred to as Shared Drives, that are Google Drive folders that may be accessed and managed by a couple of individual. They can be utilized as helpful repositories for members of a group to retailer and share paperwork, photographs, and different recordsdata, however Shared Drives should not built-in intranet websites like these provided by SharePoint.

One last word: Google’s search instruments for locating paperwork in Google Drive are much better than Microsoft’s search instruments in OneDrive, and its Cloud Search perform extends Google’s search energy throughout all of an organization’s content material. That being stated, it’s usually simpler to browse OneDrive utilizing File Explorer than it’s to browse Google Drive on the net.

Suites like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are super productiveness boosters; it’s nearly unimaginable for any enterprise to not use them or one thing like them. Many individuals imagine the identical factor will finally be stated of AI — each conventional AI and newer generative AI instruments like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Gemini for Google Workspace.

Each suites have included built-in AI options for years. Microsoft 365’s Energy Automate (beforehand referred to as Microsoft Circulation) makes use of AI to assist individuals construct workflows utilizing pure language prompts. Microsoft Energy BI is a knowledge visualization app connects to Excel and different knowledge sources. And Microsoft Editor works in Phrase and Outlook for textual content prediction and spelling and grammar checking.

Constructed-in AI instruments in Google Workspace embody Good Compose for creating paperwork and Good Reply for responding to feedback. Workspace additionally has Good Cleanup, which identifies errors in Sheet and corrects them, and Good Fill, which automates including knowledge to Sheets.  

However many of the buzz is round extra just lately launched genAI instruments, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Gemini for Google Workspace. GenAI might be significantly efficient when mixed with the productiveness suites, and including new genAI options is clearly a prime precedence for each corporations. There are those that imagine that genAI instruments have already turn out to be a must have addition to workplace suites.

The complete variations of those instruments don’t come as a core a part of both Microsoft 365 or Google Office. M365 Copilot prices an additional $30 per consumer monthly for any measurement enterprise, whereas Gemini has two tiers, $20 per consumer monthly for Gemini Enterprise, and $30 monthly for the extra highly effective Gemini Enterprise. (Costs are barely larger for Gemini when you pay month by month slightly than on an annual foundation.)

Microsoft 365 Copilot has been obtainable longer and is healthier recognized than Gemini for Google Workspace. It integrates with Phrase, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Groups.

In Phrase, it may possibly create paperwork based mostly in your prompts, or by being given an present doc and requested to create a brand new one from that — for instance, creating a brand new gross sales pitch based mostly on an present advertising and marketing doc. In PowerPoint, it really works equally and might create shows based mostly on prompts or present paperwork. It has significantly much less energy in Excel, however it does a wonderful job of mining Excel paperwork for actional info.

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In Outlook it may possibly write emails based mostly on prompts or paperwork, in addition to reply emails and summarize electronic mail threads. In Groups, it may possibly summarize major dialogue factors of conferences and recommend motion gadgets, amongst different capabilities.

It can also present a big-picture view of tasks after which allow you to drill right down to get extra granular info — for instance, discovering a particular spreadsheet with income projections for the following 5 years for brand new strains of enterprise. (For extra details about Copilot within the core Microsoft 365 apps, see “Copilot for Microsoft 365 deep dive: Productiveness at a steep worth.”)

Microsoft just lately introduced much more Microsoft 365 Copilot options, together with a brand new app referred to as Copilot Pages that’s designed for ongoing AI collaboration. In contrast to the standard ephemeral genAI output, this shared canvas gives a persistent setting the place customers can work together with the AI and one another, with every part saved to be constructed on sooner or later.

Till just lately, Gemini for Google Workspace provided fewer options than M365 Copilot, however now its capabilities are fairly related. Gemini can write new paperwork and emails based mostly on prompts. In Docs, Sheets, and Slides it may possibly summarize, analyze, and generate new content material from scratch or based mostly in your present recordsdata and emails.

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In Gmail, Gemini can summarize electronic mail threads, discover information from earlier emails, and recommend reply choices. In Slides it may possibly create photographs, take away backgrounds from photographs, and generate new slides. In Sheets it may possibly create tables and formulation, in addition to create templates for undertaking schedules, budgets, charts, and different functions. And in Docs, Gemini can be utilized to collaboratively create paperwork with co-workers — a number of individuals, for instance, can work on the identical doc, and every individual can use prompts to generate concepts that everybody can work on collectively.

Simply as Meet is much less highly effective than Groups on the whole, Gemini’s capabilities in Meet should not fairly as highly effective as Copilot’s in Groups; Google cites its capacity to take assembly notes, generate assembly summaries, and create customized backgrounds and improve video and audio high quality. Then again, Gemini does one thing that Microsoft 365 Copilot doesn’t: construct functions with out writing code with AppSheet. (There’s a related Copilot function, however it requires a separate Copilot Studio license.)

It’s value noting that with generative AI a prime precedence for each corporations, each Copilot and Gemini will quickly acquire extra options and extra integrations with their respective app suites and with third-party software program. As this text was being ready, each corporations launched a number of new options of their genAI instruments, and we’ve little question that they’ll proceed to take action for the foreseeable future.

One last word: Google just lately introduced that its Workspace Enterprise, Enterprise, and Frontline plans will quickly embody entry to its standalone Gemini app at no further cost. The app gives a few of Gemini’s capabilities — corresponding to the flexibility to extract info and generate summaries from paperwork and emails — with enterprise safety protections in place. Utilizing Gemini inside the Workspace apps nonetheless requires a separate Gemini for Google Workspace subscription, however even offering enterprise subscribers free entry to the Gemini app in a safe setting may give Google a leg up within the genAI wars.

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Different apps and extras

Microsoft 365 goes nicely past suite fundamentals, with loads of further functions and smaller apps. Amongst them is Entry, which can be utilized to construct enterprise functions, both based mostly on templates or fully from scratch. It’s designed for non-developers, though it does require some coding smarts. Entry is on the market for Home windows solely, and it’s solely included with sure subscriptions: Enterprise Commonplace and Premium, M365 Apps for Enterprise, Workplace 365 E3 and E5, and M365 Apps for Enterprise.

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The OneNote note-taking app, obtainable with most M365 subscriptions, is a really helpful but underutilized a part of the Workplace suite. Enterprise-level plans additionally include Microsoft Kinds, an app that permits you to create surveys, quizzes and polls, and Microsoft Planner, which, as its title implies, helps groups create plans, and assign duties, share recordsdata, chat about what you’re engaged on, and hold observe of updates. It might work by itself or combine with Microsoft Groups.

One other software included with some Microsoft 365 enterprise plans is Energy Automate (beforehand referred to as Microsoft Circulation), which permits companies to automate repetitive duties and combine them into workflows — for instance, robotically sending an alert when a brand new merchandise is added to SharePoint. Microsoft Clipchamp gives video modifying and design instruments, and Microsoft Loop is a collaborative device that permits you to construct workspaces that combine all of the elements of a undertaking.

Different apps and providers included with some plans embody PowerApps, a low-code app improvement device; Viva Insights, a productiveness evaluation device; Delve, a device that lets customers discover and set up content material in Microsoft 365; Sway, a device for creating web-based shows; To Do, a to-do record app that integrates with different M365 apps; Visio, a diagramming app; and Bookings, an appointment scheduling app.

Google Workspace has extras as nicely. Google Kinds, which works hand-in-hand with Sheets, is especially helpful. Because the title implies, it helps you to create types for all kinds of functions, corresponding to an order type, a piece request, a time-off request, or getting suggestions about an occasion.

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Google Websites is one other helpful one. It helps you to create group and firm web sites for particular person tasks, occasions, and different related functions. There’s additionally the Google Hold note-taking app, which is simple, bare-bones, and never practically as subtle as Microsoft’s OneNote. AppSheets gives a low-code app improvement setting.

And if you wish to create drawings, significantly diagrams, you’ll admire Google Drawings, which isn’t included with Google Workspace however works in live performance with it (and is free). For those who create a drawing with Drawings and embed it right into a Google Doc, after which make a change within the drawing file itself, the drawing in Google Docs will get up to date as nicely.

None of those extras gives knock-your-socks-off capabilities, other than Microsoft’s Entry and Clipchamp and Google’s AppSheets, which might permit these with restricted programming expertise to create really helpful functions. So they might not have an effect on your determination on which suite is greatest for your corporation. For a lot of corporations, they’re nice-to-have instruments, not must-have ones.

Selecting the productiveness suite with the very best options for your corporation is one factor, however typically neglected is how simple or tough it’s to handle the suite and shield your knowledge. Even the very best user-facing options can’t make up for poor or inadequate safety and administration instruments.

Each suites are managed from an online interface, and in each situations, the interface leaves one thing to be desired, with considerably complicated choices and layouts. Nevertheless, the simplified view within the Microsoft 365 admin heart beats something in Google Workspace due to how simply it helps you to accomplish the commonest duties, together with and modifying new and present customers, altering licenses, paying payments, and putting in Workplace on units.

Interfaces apart, Microsoft 365 gives higher admin account safety, superior cellular administration, and extra administration controls. Each suites shield your knowledge with enterprise-grade safety and supply a central safety heart for managing consumer permissions and protections.

For an in-depth comparability, try “Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Which has higher administration instruments?”

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Service and help

In an excellent world, nothing goes improper with an workplace suite, and nobody ever wants technical help. However we don’t dwell in that ideally suited world. So that you’ll wish to know the form of help and updates Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 supply.

Google Workspace gives 24/7 tech help by way of cellphone, electronic mail, and chat, however for Workspace directors solely. There’s additionally a searchable assist heart for directors and a weblog overlaying launch info for Google Workspace updates. Additionally helpful is the Google Workspace Group, which incorporates boards in addition to YouTube movies to assist directors accomplish frequent duties. Non-administrators must go to Google’s common assist space, which covers many Google merchandise corresponding to YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Photographs along with the person elements of Google Workspace. There’s additionally a Google Workspace Studying Middle for consumer coaching.

Microsoft additionally has 24/7 tech help by way of cellphone, electronic mail, and chat for Microsoft 365 directors. The Microsoft 365 admin heart assist website consists of assist focused at small companies in addition to enterprises, and the Microsoft 365 Coaching website gives complete video coaching for admins, IT professionals and Microsoft 365 customers. There’s a large variety of boards dedicated to Microsoft 365. And the Microsoft Workplace Assist & Coaching space has all kinds of assist, right down to the appliance degree and together with troubleshooting for each shoppers and admins. As for updates, Microsoft usually releases Microsoft 365 updates a number of instances a month and publishes info on-line about each replace.

Can Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace work collectively?

As you’ve seen all through this piece, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have their very own strengths and weaknesses, so that you is likely to be tempted to make use of each of them — for instance, Microsoft 365 for doc creation and Google Workspace for collaboration.

Theoretically, it’s doable. In follow, it’s a nasty thought. Partially that’s as a result of Google Workspace’s paperwork aren’t saved as native paperwork with their very own file codecs. As a substitute, they dwell on Google’s servers. It can save you them in varied file codecs, together with Microsoft 365’s .docx, .xlsx and .pptx, and you’ll import recordsdata from these and different codecs as nicely. There’s even a approach to natively edit Phrase, Excel, and PowerPoint recordsdata of their authentic codecs on Google’s servers. However I’ve discovered that formatting and layouts are sometimes misplaced in translation between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, embedded movies don’t work, not all feedback are proven, resolved feedback don’t seem, feedback you make in Google aren’t introduced again into Workplace, and so forth.

As well as, the workflow is a nightmare when you’re transferring recordsdata backwards and forwards between the 2 suites. The thought behind modifying on-line is to have a single location the place everybody can collaborate on the most recent model of every file, however when you use each Workspace and Microsoft 365, varied variations of the file could also be saved in Google Drive, OneDrive for Enterprise, or each.

However what about utilizing one suite for content material creation, collaboration, and storage and the opposite for communications like electronic mail, shared calendars, group chat, and videoconferencing? Once more, it’s theoretically doable, however I don’t see the purpose. It makes every part far more tough due to convoluted workflows, and also you’d lose the integrations constructed into every suite. And there’s additionally the difficulty of companies having to pay for, handle, and keep two workplace suites, not one, when there are not any apparent advantages to be gained by it.

As for integrating with different enterprise software program corresponding to Salesforce, Shopify, HubSpot, and others, there are many instruments for doing that with each suites. If any explicit piece of enterprise software program is especially essential to your corporation, you’d do nicely to check out the integrations with each Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 earlier than deciding on a collection.

Who ought to use Google Workspace

Based mostly on all this, what sort of firm ought to use Google Workspace? It’s fairly easy: If collaborating on paperwork is baked into your organization’s DNA — otherwise you wish to bake it in — Google Workspace is for you. Its dwell collaboration options far outstrip something Microsoft 365 has to supply. They’re such an integral a part of the suite’s design and so easy to make use of, it requires virtually no time in any respect to rise up and operating with them.

Google Workspace can also be guess if your organization doesn’t want all the delicate options of Microsoft 365’s particular person apps. Every particular person software in Google Workspace is easier to make use of than Microsoft 365’s, with Gmail particularly extra easy than Outlook. And in case your customers do a number of looking for paperwork, Google’s search capabilities for Google Drive simply outstrip what Microsoft 365 has to supply.

Who ought to use Microsoft 365

If highly effective and complicated options are extra essential to you than the very best in collaboration, then Microsoft 365 is for you. Each one in all its functions beats out its Google Workspace equal. And it’s not as when you can’t do dwell collaboration in Microsoft 365. It’s only a bit extra of a chore and never as easy as in Google Workspace. And Microsoft 365’s markup options are exemplary, so it’s guess when individuals have to evaluate one another’s work.

There are different causes for a enterprise to make use of Microsoft 365 as nicely. Though Google Workspace’s shared drives are helpful for sharing paperwork and supplies, they’re no match for the absolutely collaborative environments that SharePoint gives. If you wish to handle your mail server, slightly than use hosted electronic mail, you’ll additionally need Microsoft 365. And Microsoft Groups gives a good way for groups to share work with each other — although it now requires a separate subscription on the enterprise degree.

This story was initially revealed in February 2020 and up to date in October 2024.