Google Apps Vs Microsoft Office 365: What's Best for Your Business?
As more companies move their file storage and editing, email and team collaboration software to the cloud, they must decide which Cloud service is the best choice for their specific needs.
Two main contenders have emerged in the Cloud-based business application space:
• Google Apps: Google has gone far beyond the days of being just a search engine and now offers a range of Cloud-based services for businesses through Google Apps.
• Microsoft Office 365: Office has long been the de-facto standard software suite for business, and Microsoft's familiar software is available from the Cloud with Office 365.
Both Google Apps and Office 365 provide off-premise file storage in the cloud, which gives businesses any-time access to their files from any Internet-connected location. This is certainly a plus during periods of power outages or other disruption that would disrupt a local server. Both companies also offer productivity tools that enable businesses to collaborate, communicate, store, and manage their files.
In spite of their similarities, each platform is unique, with its own set of pros and cons. So which one is right for your business? Do you need a hang glider (Google Apps) or a Boeing 747 (Office 365)? Let's take a look at each.
Google Apps for Business
This includes Google Drive (file storage), Docs (document editing), Sheets (spreadsheet editing), Slides (presentations), Calendar, and Gmail (email).
Benefits:
• Google Apps is a low-cost option that small businesses can easily afford.
• Its programs are relatively easy to learn and are fairly intuitive.
• Integration across their Apps provides a high level of convenience.
• Google Docs provides real-time file updates and collaboration across users and devices. Documents are automatically saved.
• As more people migrate away from other email providers to Gmail in their personal lives, they will be more comfortable with using Google products at work.
Potential drawbacks:
• Compared to Microsoft Office, Google Apps has a much smaller number of business users. Therefore, training may be needed to get employees comfortable and productive using Google's apps.
• Compatibility can be a problem when sharing Google Docs/Sheets/Slides with other people who use Microsoft's products. Most Google documents can be opened/viewed by Microsoft Office applications, although certain things may not translate - for example, Sheets formulas often times won't work in Excel (and vice versa.)
• Docs, Sheets and Slides do not have the same extensive formatting and formula options offered by Microsoft Office desktop software, which could frustrate users who are accustomed to the more flexible programs from MS. However, the same is true of the web-based version of Office 365 apps.
• Google Apps is entirely browser based - no desktop versions of the programs are available. Desktop versions of Microsoft Office apps are included with the higher monthly-cost Office 365 plans.
• The search giant scans and indexes emails and other user data for various purposes (mostly advertising); this scanning is completely automated and cannot be turned off.
Microsoft Office 365
Office 365 offers many programs familiar to millions of desktop users (and therein lies some benefit to it): Word, Excel (spreadsheets), Hosted Exchange (email), SkyDrive/SharePoint Online (file storage), PowerPoint (presentations), as well as Lync (voice/chat software - but requires an on premise Lync server.) Overall, Office 365 is a more robust suite that Google Apps, with greater complexity/capability within its programs and overall offerings.
Benefits:
• Familiarity with Microsoft products -- It is more likely that employees already use or know Microsoft Office products; therefore, training time will be reduced.
• The likelihood of compatibility issues with customers, vendors and others is also minimized.
• Flexible editing options -- files can be edited directly through a Web browser using limited Web-based versions of the Office software suite or through the Office desktop software suite (based on the monthly plan that you use, or if you already own/purchase the desktop Office apps).
• Hosted Exchange provides email archiving and journaling.
• Broad range of monthly packages and pricing for small, medium, and enterprise companies.
Potential drawbacks:
• SharePoint Online file collections can be mapped as a network drive on a PC so that you can open files directly from Windows Explorer, however the mapping often breaks.
• SharePoint Online can be cumbersome to use and is complex to setup.
• The number of choices in terms of packages and subscription options can be confusing. Depending on your staff's actual needs in terms of software, Microsoft Office 365 might give you more features than they'll ever use.
• It is typically more expensive than Google Apps when only taking pure out-of-pocket expenses into consideration.
Which One Should You Choose?
• Be consistent among users. Regardless of the platform that is used, all employees should utilize the same document editing platform (Google or Microsoft) to avoid incompatibilities or loss of formatting, layout, and formulas.
• Address potential security concerns. Both applications maintain control of file data, including how/where it is stored. Since file data may be synched up on each employee's PC or mobile device, this could present some security issues as well, although convenience and access may override those concerns.
• Legacy client or startup? Businesses that already use Microsoft tools can make the most of their existing investment by partially, or wholly, moving to Office 365. Businesses in startup mode (especially those with less than 10 users) can benefit from the simplicity, low out-of-pocket expense and ease of Google Apps.
• No matter what, back it up! Neither Google nor Microsoft provide a complete backup or archive of all of your data that is stored in their Cloud apps - so we recommend a regular backup of your data/emails to a third party or to your office so that you have it if needed (which also may be required for HIPAA, FINRA or other regulatory compliance.)
• Compare hard and soft costs. Compare the out-of-pocket expenses of each solution. Include both the monthly fees and one-time migration and training costs. Also include the soft-costs - time that will be spent by any internal employees involved with the switch-over, as well as the potential productivity loss.
• Try before you commit. Because both solutions provide short-term month-to-month commitments, we suggest you have two or more users in your organization take both for a test drive to fully understand how they work, and the small differences that may make a huge difference to your users.
Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics AX For Your Company?
Top reasons to select Microsoft Dynamics AX for your company
Here are just some of the great reasons to consider running Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 for your business:
Market Leading Product - top ranked by the leading third party analyst for mid-size companies of $50M - $1B in revenue, global operations and 5 - 1,000 employees.
Fits Your People - the role tailored Microsoft Dynamics AX user interface is already familiar to your people with its Microsoft Outlook 'look and feel' which makes it both the solution users want to use and the one that actually gets used. It includes productivity features to auto-populate fields and seamlessly integrate with other Microsoft Office products (including Outlook, Office, Windows, SharePoint, SQL Server).
Fits Your Business Requirements - Advanced, full-function, pre-integrated, role-based, workflow-enabled, end-to-end business process management/ ERP software capabilities. Provides robust functionality and highly-configurable to meet your changing needs. Wide range of Microsoft certified ISV add-on modules also available.
Fits Your Existing Systems - Runs on your Microsoft IT platform. Open/extensible to integrate with your other/future applications. Easy to get data in and out.
Low Total Cost of Ownership - Leverages your current Microsoft computing platform investment. Flexible and extensible to meet unique and changing future requirements. Easy for business users to operate and maintain (without reliance on internal IT or outside contractors/ consultants).
Rapid Implementation Time/ Time to Value - High-level planning guideline is 2-3 elapsed months for typical project duration; includes requirements definition, design/configuration, training and user acceptance test before deployment. Scope, client stakeholder availability and deployment method drive actual project duration.
Advanced Technology - Available web-portal interface for non-core licensed users. Windows optimized client/server application for core users provides the rich client interface power users prefer. Open APIs (web services) to integrate with your other applications and import/export data from the system.
Highly Scalable to Grow with Your Business - Benchmarked to support over 16,000 concurrent users.
Microsoft's Sustained Commitment to Product Innovation - Long-term Microsoft commitment to the Dynamics AX product development road map. Deep end-to-end integration and backward compatibility with other Microsoft platform products. 30+ year track record of Microsoft convergent product innovation powered by a $9 Billion+ R&D spend - more than Oracle's, SAP's, Google's, and Apple's 2009 R&D spend combined!
Power of Choice - Supports your changing business needs with flexible software + services license and deployment options. 'Buy' a one-time, upfront, perpetual license to own or 'rent' on a monthly subscription basis. Option to upgrade from Dynamics AX Business Essentials to the Advanced Management edition when/if needed. Option to credit your Dynamics GP license toward a new Dynamics AX license when/if desired. On-premises or partner hosted software deployment options and the ability to move between.
Low Risk/Proven Solution - Microsoft is the world's largest software provider (with '09 revenue of $60 Billion+); here today and tomorrow to serve your changing needs. Dynamics AX trusted by over 12,000 companies. Microsoft has the longest product version support cycle in the industry (10 years). Massive R&D positions your organization to draft behind a colossal wake of ongoing convergent technology innovation. As a genuine Microsoft Product, it is your lowest risk solution option.
When you compare all the factors, Microsoft Dynamics AX is one of the best ERP software solution options for most mid-size companies.
Microsoft SharePoint Vs Box Dot Net
SharePoint 2010 has many advantages over online computing services such as Box.net. Increase of user productivity is a clear outcome thanks to the ease with which they can access the information and documentation across multiple devices. Box.net may be able to offer similar access to data stored on their servers, but Microsoft can offer more by virtue of the fact that they produce the most widely proliferated set of business and office storage and productivity solutions. Businesses using Microsoft products beginning with SharePoint enjoy superior integration between its file storage and sharing systems and Microsoft Office Suite.
This integration includes unprecedented access to editing and publishing on SharePoint sites, either from inside the firewall of the company where the data originates or outside the firewall. This, in turn, allows cooperation, teamwork, and sharing between businesses looking to maximize the effectiveness of their partnerships. This is not something with which Box.net and similar services can effectively compete.
SharePoint 2010 has another advantage in that it is already familiar to many IT professionals. The updated version has adopted the new Office Ribbon UI, making it easier for users to work with the powerful capabilities SharePoint has to offer. The fact that most companies are already accustomed to working with Microsoft products leads to an ease of use that Box.net is unable to offer. In the business world, a short learning curve means lower overhead and heightened productivity. That translates directly to cost savings over adopting a third-party application like Box.net.
Prior to the release of SharePoint 2010, Box.net had carved out a small piece of the enormous business solutions pie by beating Microsoft to the punch in mobile offerings. Now that Microsoft has begun offering the same level of mobile connectivity as Box.net and other newcomers, SharePoint should be in a position to retain its dominance of the office solutions market.
In truth, the comparisons between a start-up like Box.net and industry Goliath are hardly fair. It is another case of the age-old comparison of apples versus oranges. SharePoint and the Microsoft Office Suite offer the kind of resources only an industry leader can. A service like Box.net is years away from even being close to duplicating the level of integration and cost savings companies demand from their solution providers. Due in large part to the deep integration capabilities, SharePoint 2010 can promote cost efficiency by allowing the IT department of a given company to do much more without increasing IT budgets. By optimizing existing resources, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 can drastically lower the real costs of development and management of innovative business productivity solutions.
SAP Business One vs Microsoft Dynamics GP - Highlights for Consultant
Microsoft and SAP. Both products target mid-size businesses in the USA, Europe (however Microsoft Great Plains - Dynamics GP will be leaving continental Europe market starting with version 10.0 - somewhere in the year of 2008, where Microsoft Business Solutions will probably stake on Microsoft Dynamics NAV - again this is contingent to the progress with Project Green or now Microsoft Dynamics project). Let's come to the topic:
o Microsoft Dynamics GP strong points. Microsoft, being leader in Operating Systems, Office Products, and also having such platforms as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server - can now capitalize on ERP technology infrastructure, which includes ERP integration: SQL heterogeneous queries, Sharepoint workflows, web portals. At the same time, long time presence on the market for such products as Microsoft Outlook gives Microsoft the option to count on Outlook user experience - Microsoft Dynamics products will not require user training (from the interface intuitiveness standpoint) - Microsoft Dynamics CRM has Outlook Client, Microsoft Dynamics GP will have tighter integration with Outlook in its version 9.0. Making some comments on another Microsoft product - Microsoft Small Business Accounting - it is integrated with MS Outlook, where you can create invoices and promote outlook contacts to your MS SBA customers.
o SAP Business One. This product was purchased by SAP from Israel software development company four years ago. The driven reason was probably the need to go down to mid-size and even small clientele, plus SAP needed such product to be easily adaptable to Multilanguage and complex international taxation rules. SAP Business One has CRM, ERP/Production modules and technically can serve as ERP/MRP/CRM for manufacturing or servicing subsidiary of large corporation. SAP Business One has modern architecture and design and this is what could be a strong point in decision making to select ERP platform. SAP Business One has integration to Microsoft Office - it could use email messaging through MS Outlook client / SMTP and in integrate with MS Office on the level of COM objects
o Microsoft Dynamics arguments. At the time when Microsoft Dynamics / Project Green are working to enable Microsoft ERP products to work with Microsoft Office technologies SAP is several years behind in this direction. SAP is currently contracting Microsoft to enable SAP mySAP integration with Microsoft Office. Microsoft has this strong argument against SAP Business One - SAP deploys industry Experts who are very strong in general ERP/MRP plus probably Business and Industry Vertical Consulting to implement ERP from midsize business, where technology consulting and expertise come first. The result is longer implementation cycle plus complexity with SAP Business One integration with technology innovative and legacy products
o SAP Business One Arguments. Microsoft is trying to trap you to its technical solutions and proprietary technologies. It is enough if we give you excellent ERP platform which has good integration tools to Microsoft Office plus enables some integration with Windows platform itself - you can use VB.Net or C#.Net (our commentary - you can have your SAP Business One to communicate with outside world with such non-Microsoft platforms as IBM Lotus Notes Domino and use Lotus Notes as Document workflow)
o Additional Microsoft Arguments. There are analytics out there on the ERP strategic research market who support Microsoft in the opinion that SAP Business One will need technology advances (such as developing its own Office platform or tighter cooperation with Microsoft Office products) to stay current with the ERP market in the year of 2010...
o Additional Considerations. Of course SAP has additional bells and whistles, such as language switch - you can switch from German, French or Brazilian Portuguese to US English by pressing Cnrtl key combination. Microsoft Dexterity was designed in earlier 1990th and doesn't support such a nice functionality and Unicode - the question frequently asked by the prospect from China, India and Arabic World.
CRM Software - Comparing Microsoft Dynamics CRM To Salesforce
CRM Software solutions are an integral part of the sales, marketing and customer service of most organisations. Today, CRM Software dwells far further than these functions to manage all business requirements. This has been termed by the people at Microsoft as xRM - (x) anything Relationship Management. Choosing which solution is right for your company is not easy and often companies compare different CRM offerings. Two of the major CRM software applications on the market today are Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.
There was a time with these two CRM software applications the choice was more black and white. You either looked at software deployed in-house (Microsoft Dynamics CRM) v the software-as-a-service model (Salesforce).
Now that Microsoft has moved into the cloud with their software as a service model and Salesforce now has a development platform with its "Force" offering your options are now blurred.
Salesforce was founded in 1999 with a vision to create an on-demand information management service that would replace traditional enterprise software technology. Salesforce calls itself "the enterprise cloud-computing company". Sales Cloud™ and Service Cloud™ are Salesforce's applications for sales and customer service. Their approach to the cloud computing deployment model has led to them developing the force.com cloud platform that allows developers and users to build business applications on top of the Salesforce offering.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, created by Microsoft product team with vast resources was designed with a long-term vision that will allow Customers to use CRM with multiple Microsoft products and choose deployment options to meet organisational needs.
IT researcher Springboard found Australian and New Zealand was already the most mature market for SaaS applications in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to BRW Magazine the market is tipped to grow 45% a year in Australia and New Zealand from $UA 1.7 billion in 2008 to $US7.7 billion by 2012. The magazine also referred to customer relationship management software as the most popular SaaS application (35 percent) and that "companies in Australia are using SaaS because it's cheaper, rather than because it's easier to use. Only 9 percent cited "ease of use" as the reason for choosing SaaS.
Choice and Flexibility
With a multitenant CRM solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers any number of deployment options, depending on your needs. On-demand, on-premise, and partner-hosted models are available for Microsoft Dynamic CRM. If your deployment requirements change so too can your CRM software deployment options as each deployment option is built on the same modern architecture and data model. For example, you can take your configurations and data hosted by Microsoft and move to In-House or to a Microsoft Partner web based CRM software hosted model. Salesforce platform offers SaaS by the Cloud and you don't own the software and configurations. If you want to change to an in-house solution you need to move to another CRM application. You need to factor the cost of getting your data out of Salesforce. Depending on the level of subscription you purchase for Salesforce there have been reports of your data being held hostage. This is, depending on your level of subscription you need to upgrade your subscription in order to export your data.
Cost
Salesforce claims to cost significantly less but Microsoft Dynamics CRM insists that the comparison is not for like services. A-la-carte pricing that is additional to potential price hikes at contract renewal time can significantly affect the total cost of Salesforce. When assessing comparable online products between the two opponents, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is available for less than 50% of the Salesforce fee. The latest pricing in the USA indicates that "Microsoft CRM [Online] runs $44-59 per user per month, compared to $125 for Salesforce" Professional Edition.
Entry price for Salesforce is cheaper but if you want more functionality you obviously have to pay more. With Microsoft CRM you have access to the complete system from the moment you first purchase. Your purchase decision should never be based on solely on price as its only one component in the decision making process. Those that buy first time around on price usually call back 6-24 months later asking for help. From personal experience decision makers who purchase solely on price first time around re-purchase the second time around on service. To compare in-house versus hosted pricing you need to calculate over a 3-5 year period and not just 1 year.
Ownership of Data
Salesforce, as a software-as-a-service provider, does not own the data collected by its customers. Instead, its data centres are outsourced to Equinix, a third party company in the USA and Singapore. With Microsoft CRM for in-house, and partner hosted options, customers have full control over the security and physical location of their data. You can swap and take your data between these options. Microsoft CRM Online hosted by Microsoft will be released in Australia late 2010 and the data will be hosted in Singapore. Again, you will have the ability to move from hosted to in-house but the online model will have some restrictions around customisation code. In order for Salesforce customers to get development platform capabilities they must buy the unlimited version.
Ease of Use
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is designed for easy user adoption because of its similarity and compatibility with Microsoft Office and Outlook. Simply put, it is designed to minimize the need for training, reduce application switching, and produce high productivity. With the launch of Microsoft CRM 5 or 2011 its release name), Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 the GUI (interface) between the three product suites becomes very similar in look and feel. This provides users with an easy to learn experience and greater chance of user uptake.
Salesforce graphical interface is modern and should be easy to use for most users. The integration to Microsoft Outlook and Office is reported as not as strong as Dynamics CRM especially for MS Excel and Outlook. Those using Google Mail will find Salesforce to their liking.
Both Salesforce and Dynamics CRM have similar modules including sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, document management, contract management, product catalogue management and reports. Although each module for each product has its strengths and weaknesses side by side you need to evaluate each application module against your business requirements (and not user likeability).
Often an organisation short lists three CRM applications to be presented to its users. Evaluation should not be based heavily (if at all) on the users liking the look and feel of the graphical interface. The users of an organisation tend to agree on one CRM application as by nature we feel most comfortable with what we already know. If you ask a salesperson who has been using a paper diary for 30 years, what is better? A paper based or CRM system the answer is always paper! Over the years I have witnessed three different systems put in front of users at different organisations and there is never a clear winner for the CRM application chosen.
At present, Salesforce has a lot of easy to use business add-on products for its core offerings built on its force.com platform. Microsoft has a host of ISV Partners who have built add-on products to Microsoft CRM but it's not as easy to find these add-on's spread out across the globe on various websites. Microsoft has just launched PinPoint that allows you to search globally for Partner software solutions. Also, Microsoft CRM Dynamics Online does not provide the same access to write custom code in a sandbox because Microsoft did not want outside code in its own application, but with Microsoft Azure, ISVs can execute their own code.
Access to CRM and Email
Microsoft CRM is available either through a web browser, through a mobile device or through a plug-in to MS Outlook. Salesforce integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, or Google App's. Salesforce will run on a mobile device, through a web browser and if you want some level of Email (Outlook, Lotus Notes, or Google App's) integration, however you will still need to download and install a Salesforce connector.
Scope and Support
According to Wikipedia, Salesforce offers support for 16 languages, while Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers support for 25. Microsoft Dynamics CRM's ecosystem includes 750,000 solutions partners; 2,200 users groups, and 400 community web sites globally. Standard support included in Salesforce's subscription fee allows for a 2 business day response time. With Microsoft, support is dependent on the licensing module used to purchase the software and the support offered by a Microsoft CRM Partner. You can choose from ad-hoc through to dedicated support.
The Future and Investments
It has been reported in online publication The Inquirer.com that Microsoft will spend US$9.5 billion dollars in 2010 on research and development making it the largest R&D technology spender in the world.
In 2008, Salesforce spent $63.8 million, or 8% of its revenue, on research and development, much of which went towards expanding the Salesforce's cloud computing abilities. In addition, 91% of salesforce's revenue comes from subscription and support fees from their cloud computing services.
The CEO of Zoho, Sridhar Vembu first made this good point in April 2008 by noting the disparities in R&D and sales & marketing spending by Salesforce. Using the financial data from the last 12 months, Salesforce's sales and marketing spending of $605 million was almost 5 times its R&D spending of $131 million. It has been reported in businessinsider.com that Google, R&D spending of $2.8 billion was almost 1.5 times that of its S&M expense of $2 billion.
There is no doubt Salesforce is a leader in the SaaS market. The question will be whether the heavy weights including Microsoft (with Azure and BPOS) and Google with its GoogleApps MarketPlace will be able to stay in the game as the heavy weights begin gaining heavy market share in the cloud.
SaaS versus In-House
A note on SaaS versus In-House deployment. "In 2009, within enterprise applications, SaaS represented 3.4 per cent of total enterprise spending, slightly up from 2008 at 2.8 per cent," said David Cearley, vice president of Gartner. This market will reach $8.8 billion in 2010, according to the company's forecasts.
From a market perspective, most of the spending for SaaS is occurring in the content, collaboration communication, and customer relationship management markets. Collectively, they represented 65 per cent of the global enterprise applications software market in 2009. Many of the bad practices that occurred in the on premises world are now moving their way into SaaS.
The biggest example is shelfware. "Shelfware-as-a-service is the concept of paying for a software subscription that is not being accessed by an end user," said Cearley. "This most commonly occurs in large organisations, but it could happen to any company, especially those that have downsized their workforce, or one that has oversubscribed to trigger a volume discount." "SaaS may not have delivered on its early grand promises - of the current SaaS deployments we estimate that a total of 90 per cent of SaaS deployments are not pay-per use - but it has reenergised the software market and added choice," Cearley said.
First Steps in Choosing Your CRM Solution
Your first step in determining which solution is right for your company is to document your CRM requirements. Secondly, research to see what CRM applications are going to meet your requirements. Third, bring in a CRM consultancy firm and/or CRM Vendor to discuss your requirements and demonstrate their knowledge and application to you. Whether you go hosted or in-house should always come after you've gone through the above steps.