Comparing Google Workspace to Microsoft 365

Which is better, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? When choosing a productivity software, there are conflicting views. With their Office line, Microsoft has been offering a proven software package for everyday office use for years in the form of Microsoft 365.

With their file hosting services Drive and Google Docs, Google has initially established itself as a free alternative to the Microsoft product range. This is primarily aimed at private users. Google Workspace is meant to meet the demands of business customers and establish itself in this area as a serious competitor to Microsoft Office. But how does Google Workspace hold up in a direct comparison to the market leader?

With the productivity software Google Workspace, Google is targeting the business segment – a declaration of war to market leader Microsoft and their competitor product Microsoft 365. We compare Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 on the basis of the following aspects:

• App features
• Cloud storage
• File sharing
• Collaboration
• E-Mail
• Security
• Data protection
• Availability
• Support
• Pricing

If you look at the of the two business app packages’ product portfolios, you can see the scope of functions is largely the same. Basically, Google is offering a comparable alternative for every Microsoft 365 app.

However, a unique feature of Microsoft’s product is the download option. All Microsoft 365 Apps for business apps listed above are also available as desktop versions if required, and can be installed directly from the cloud on local devices (depending on the selected product plan) and, if possible, used offline.

Google Workspace also offers offline functions for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides - not in the form of a desktop app, but as a feature of the web application. The prerequisite for this is the use of the Chrome web browser, including an extension for offline operation.

Cloud solutions like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace points in the corporate context mainly through central data storage on the Internet.

Microsoft relies on the file hosting service OneDrive for Microsoft 365. Google Workspace users have access to the Google Drive cloud storage platform with an extended storage quota.

In the Google Workspace basic version, the storage quota is 30 gigabytes. Google makes unlimited storage available to Business and Enterprise users of the product versions, provided that at least 5 user licenses are purchased. With four or fewer licenses, the available storage volume is reduced to 1 TB per license.

Both Microsoft and Google provide the ability to synchronize cloud storage with a device. Files and file folders stored online can also be made available offline if required.

When it comes to managing files stored online, both cloud storage solutions score highly with a wide range of functions. Practical features for day-to-day business include the versioning and sharing functions, which allow users to share files with people inside or outside their organization at the click of a mouse – with a time limit if required.

Google Workspace offers a search function based on NLP (Natural language processing) that covers all applications.

As collaboration platforms, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace provide powerful tools for communicating and collaborating with colleagues, customers and business partners.

Both solutions offer video telephony and instant messaging, as well as collaborative editing of text, spreadsheets and presentations in the cloud.

Google’s answer to Skype for Business is the video conferencing and instant messaging service Hangouts. Google Workspace doesn’t offer a chat-based workspace like Microsoft Teams that combines group management, file sharing and document sharing.

Corporate websites and other intranet applications can be implemented just as professionally with Google Workspaces as with Microsoft 365. Google uses an intuitive template system with limited scope for design with sites. Microsoft SharePoint, on the other hand, is less intuitive, but offers significantly more possibilities for the implementation of company-internal web applications.

With Yammer and Google+, both vendors offer cloud solutions that enable internal and cross-company social networks.

Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer enterprise-class professional email features, including a calendar and address book.

Microsoft 365 users manage their e-mail traffic either in the Outlook e-mail client program, or in Outlook on the web browser application – or the mobile device if required. In Google Workspace, e-mail management is offered through the app Gmail, which also forms the basis of the free e-mail product of the same name.

Unlike the free Google account, Gmail is available to Google Workspace users with an ad-free user interface and individual e-mail domain. With Office365, the individual e-mail domain is only supported for product plans that include the Exchange Online Email service. These include Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Apps for business Premium and all Enterprise plans.

Google Workspace versus Microsoft 365 – which product is more secure? Both products are designed for enterprise customers whose business processes are subject to strict compliance guidelines regarding eavesdropping security and data protection.

Both providers rely on solid encryption technologies for data storage in the data center, as well as for data transmission between client and server.

In addition, both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have been designed to meet key industry standards and regulations for secure data processing.

• Both platforms are certified according to international standards for information security, cloud security and cloud data protection (ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO 27018).
• All Microsoft cloud services meet the Service Organization Controls Operational Security Standards (SOC 1, 2 and 3), which cover annual controls for data security, availability, integrity processing, and confidentiality. Google Workspace is also SOC 2 and 3 certified.
• As participants in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), both vendors have undergone an evaluation and approval process that qualifies their cloud products for use in U.S. government agencies.
• To ensure secure processing of credit card transactions, both cloud platforms support the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
• All cloud tools in the Microsoft product range are HIPAA compliant. The U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act provides strict rules for handling patient data. Google Cloud only partially meets the HIPAA requirements to date.

Both Microsoft and Google have privacy measures in place that provides companies with a GDPR compliant service.

Like the Microsoft Cloud, Google Workspace guarantees 99.9 percent availability for users. The service teams on both platforms can be reached around the clock by telephone, e-mail or chat.

Google offers Google Workspace in three versions. The Google Workspace Basic and Google Workspace Business product packages are designed for startups and small businesses. With Google Workspace Enterprise, Google is targeting large enterprises.

Microsoft offers entrepreneurs a wider product range. A total of 7 product plans with different functional ranges are available for business use.

Google Workspace is a worthy competitor on the market leader in all relevant areas. Online, the Microsoft cloud service hardly offers a feature that is not available with Google. Only users who prefer to work with a desktop application rather than a web browser are better off with Microsoft 365.