I am regularly out on the road talking to new customers about how we can help them remain competitive in the current tough economic climate. The majority of who don’t want to be leading edge when it comes to technology but also don’t want to be left behind. Our aim is to educate and asses what’s best for their business in an easy to understand manner, avoiding techno babble.

One of the questions which crops up more and more is why should I look at Office 365 instead of Google Apps and vice versa. I wanted to share some very high level comparisons which may help you decide and them some links to articles which go into much more detail.

What is Office 365? It is Microsoft’s new cloud-based version of Microsoft Office. It includes: Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online products. (http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/office365/online-software.aspx) What is Google Apps? Is a suite of Google applications that brings together essential services to help your business using a variety of Google products including Email, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Talk on a unique domain. (http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html)

At a very basic level if you use any of the advanced features of Microsoft Office and don’t want to change the end user experience. Stick with Microsoft. If you have fairly basic Office functionality and you are open to change, Google Apps are certainly worth looking at especially if you need to store and share documents.

The below link shows some very in-depth Pro’s and Con’s which are certainly worth reviewing if you are considering either option, the article originates in the US, but still informative for a UK audience. http://www.hyperoffice.com/google-apps-vs-microsoft-bpos

At Virtual IT we like to help, so please contact me at the below email if you would like to meet and discuss either of the above offerings in more detail, to see if it’s a suitable option for your business.

Thanks for reading Jim (blog@virtualit.biz)