Whether you run an antiques shop, a hair salon, or a neighborhood café, chances are you utilize cloud-based productivity tools every day. Ninety-four percent of businesses worldwide use some type of cloud-based services¹. However, not all these services are created equal. Consider MS 365 and Google Workspace, for example. While both platforms offer the same basic functionalities, including business email services, online storage, and productivity apps, they are built quite differently².
For instance, Google takes a cloud-native approach, emphasizing tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Sheets, which support offline email and document storage when used on the Chrome browser². Microsoft, however, centers MS 365 around its familiar Office franchise, including both desktop and web-based versions of Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word².
If you are a Google Workspace user, you may ask yourself, “Is MS 365 really better than Workspace for my business?” Fortunately, MS 365 offers a variety of solutions designed with your company’s specific needs in mind. In this article, we will explore the benefits of switching your business from Google Workspace to MS 365.One benefit of switching your business to MS 365 is that, unlike Google, it offers the familiar MS Office suite of applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint². In addition to the latest desktop versions of these apps on Windows PCs and Macs, you can utilize full-featured web versions of applications like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word². Furthermore, MS 365’s Business Basic, Standard, and Premium plans also include mobile versions of Office apps, so you can work seamlessly from anywhere on any device³. This demonstrates the power of MS 365 for your organization.
Another advantage to transitioning your company from Google Workspace to MS 365 is that it provides you with a diverse array of plans tailored to meet your business’s needs. For example, if you seek a simple, affordable cloud-based productivity platform, select Business Basic, which costs only $6/user/month for an annual subscription³. Meanwhile, Business Standard offers the same features as its low-budget counterpart, plus desktop Office apps (including Publisher and Access on Windows PCs), seamless webinar-hosting abilities, and document personalization tools, for $12.50/user/month with a yearly subscription³. Furthermore, if your business requires advanced security, data control, and protection from harmful cyberthreats, select Business Premium, which starts at $19.80/user/month with an annual subscription³. No matter which of these three plans you select, MS 365 gives you tools for predictably awesome business collaboration, communication, and productivity.
Of course, MS 365’s plans are not just limited to Business Basic, Standard, and Premium. Microsoft also offers specialized subscription plans for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and frontline businesses. For instance, if you are an eligible nonprofit, you can qualify for a free MS 365 Business Basic plan for up to 300 users, or a free Business Premium plan for up to 10 users⁴. If you prefer the Business Standard tier, you can pay only $3/month/user for a yearly subscription. Meanwhile, if your company is a healthcare provider, manufacturer, or retailer, you can select from MS 365 F1 for $2.25/user/month, or MS 365 F3 for $8/user/month⁵. Both plans include the familiar Office suite, Teams, and OneDrive cloud storage, plus MS Bookings, Viva Connections, Viva Engage, and Viva Insights⁵. With these helpful tools, you can easily secure your organization and predictably awesome collaboration, communication, and productivity experiences for everyone in your company⁵. This shows the value MS 365 has over Google Workspace for your business.
Still another benefit of making MS 365 your go-to cloud platform is its enhanced security. For example, Microsoft’s Outlook email platform offers a variety of enterprise-grade security features designed to shield your business from harmful cyberthreats⁶. Notably, Outlook automatically deactivates potentially malicious email links, thwarting phishers from hooking you into their schemes⁶. Considering the average data breach costs $4.76 million, according to IBM, switching your business’s email from Gmail to Outlook is an investment well worth making⁷.
However, MS 365’s enhanced security features are not just limited to Outlook. Microsoft OneDrive also offers robust security tools, including file encryption, monitoring for suspicious activity, ransomware detection and recovery, and scanning for viruses, so you can enjoy comprehensive cloud storage without worrying about your information falling into the wrong hands⁸. Furthermore, OneDrive’s Personal Vault feature uses identity verification such as fingerprints, face recognition, and SMS codes to protect and store your most sensitive files in the cloud⁸. Personal Vault also gives you easy accessibility to your files, whether from your web browser, the OneDrive mobile app, or directly from File Explorer if you have a Windows 11 PC⁸. In short, MS 365’s security features make it easier to collaborate and communicate securely, anytime and on any device, whether you are at a client’s office, a trade show in Tulsa, or an airport lounge like the one at New York’s LaGuardia Airport pictured below.
(Image courtesy of https://metroairportnews.com/air-canadas-latest-maple-leaf-lounge-opens-in-new-york-laguardia-airports-new-terminal/)
A further advantage of switching to MS 365 is that while the Business Basic plan and Google’s Business Starter plan both cost $6/month/user for an annual subscription, Business Basic offers you increased cloud storage³. While Google Workspace Business Starter gives you 30GB of storage per user across Drive and Gmail², MS 365 provides you with 1TB of OneDrive for Business storage per user, making it easier to store and access your business documents anywhere, anytime, on any device³. This demonstrates the value of MS 365 for affordable business cloud storage.
While MS 365’s Business Basic plan offers 1TB of cloud storage versus 30GB of storage for Google’s Business Starter plan, it also provides you the opportunity to organize MS Teams calls, chats, and video meetings with up to 300 attendees³. Google, on the other hand, only allows up to 100 participants for Google Meet communications with Business Starter². This shows that if you need a reliable tool for predictably awesome business communications, MS 365 is the way to go.
In this article, we explored the benefits of switching your business from Google Workspace to MS 365. Microsoft’s cloud-based collaboration, communication, and productivity platform offers you unparalleled security, comprehensive file storage, enhanced meeting capabilities with MS Teams, and a variety of affordable plans tailored to your company’s needs. No matter how you slice it, transitioning from Google Workspace to MS 365 is your business’s key to predictably awesome communication, collaboration, and productivity.
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Sources:
¹Zippia. “25 Amazing Cloud Adoption Statistics [2023]: Cloud Migration, Computing, And More” by Jack Flynn. Retrieved from https://www.zippia.com/advice/cloud-adoption-statistics/.
²ZDNet. “Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace: Which productivity suite is best for your business?” by Ed Bott. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/office-365-vs-g-suite-which-
productivity-suite-is-best-for-your-business/.
³Microsoft. “Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans | Microsoft.” Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products.
⁴Microsoft. “Compare Microsoft 365 Nonprofit Plans | Microsoft.” Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/nonprofit-plans-and-pricing.
⁵Microsoft. “Microsoft 365 for Frontline Workers Plans and Pricing | Microsoft.” Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/frontline-plans-and-pricing.
⁶Android Authority. “Outlook vs. Gmail: How do they compare?” by Adam Birney. Retrieved from https://www.androidauthority.com/outlook-vs-gmail-3336795/.
⁷IBM Security. “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023.” Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/E3G5JMBP.
⁸Microsoft. “Personal Vault: Store Sensitive Files – Microsoft OneDrive.” Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/personal-vault.
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