Google Workspace Upgrade Your Business

Be it an online business, a product website, or a company about to undertake digital transformation, the most common question in the mind of SMEs, start-ups, and pretty much every business owner is:

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace?

Like any other set of tools which compete with each other, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have some similarities and differences in terms of their offerings, price, plans, customer support, productivity and more.

Exabytes Singapore offers collaboration tools such as Google Workspace, Dropbox as well as Microsoft 365 for customers to choose from.

Read more to understand the details of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are powerful and reliable suites that boost productivity and entail businesses to perform with flexibility.

They provide data protection and are reliable cloud platforms with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

With very close similarities and differences, it becomes difficult to evaluate each suite and decide which one to opt for. 

Be it Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) and Microsoft 365 (MS office) – the product base is very strong given that they have been developed and serviced by Google and Microsoft – the world’s biggest tech companies.

Each online collaboration tool set has its own following and are quite popular.

What is Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Office)?

Microsoft 365

Formerly Office 365 and now Microsoft 365, it has enhanced its productivity by developing concrete plans for businesses.

The Microsoft 365 suite include apps and services like chat, emails, web and mobile applications, cloud storage, security, and phone support.

The Microsoft 365 pricing depends on the package one opts for.

As a product, Microsoft 365 has three plan variants called “basic”, “standard” and “premium”.

Apps and services included are MS office (MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Outlook), Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Access, and Teams.

Related: Microsoft 365 Pricing Plans

What is Google Workspace (GWS)? 

Google Workspace

Known as G Suite in its earlier avatar, Google Workspace enhances productivity and the creation of business teams using flexible and innovative solutions.

The Google Workspace Business suite plans are “starter”, “standard” and offers a separate “dedicated enterprise” package.

The Google Workspace tools basket includes apps and services from Gmail, Drive, Meet, Chat, Jamboard, Calendar, Keep, Forms, Sites, Docs, and Sheets.

At Exabytes both the suites are offered with the best of packages.

An experienced sales and customer service team is available for consultation to help make the best purchase decision.

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What are the feature offerings of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365?

  • Business Emails 
  • Maintaining Schedules via Calendars
  • Creation of spreadsheets, documents, and presentations
  • Instant Chat 
  • Video Conferencing 
  • Team Collaboration 
  • Project Storage & File Management 

Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are one-stop shop for businesses which helps small to medium enterprises improve their efficiency and productivity.

This allows the SMEs to save their time that can be used in other critical tasks.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 Product Comparison

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 Tools - Exabytes

  • The Google Workspace or G Suite brings in cost-effective solutions
  •  A Microsoft 365 or MS office subscriptions brings along predictable spending with secured cloud storage.
  • While Microsoft 365 promotes centralised collaboration, google workspace promotes anytime and anywhere accessibility.
  • The Google Workspace or GWS Suite comes with industry-leading enterprise security whereas Microsoft 365 or MS office comes with standard threat protection.

Key differences (Quick Overview)  

Functionality  Google Workspace Microsoft 365
Plans & Pricing
  • Business Starter S$7.59/month/user
  • Business Standard S$14.99/month/user
  • Business Plus S$22.99/user/month
  • Business Basic S$7.99/month/user
  • Apps for business S$11.00/month/user
  • Business Standard S$17.99/month/user
  • Business Premium S$29.99/user/month
Cloud Storage
  • Business Starter 30GB 
  • Business Standard 2TB 
  • Business Plus 5TB
  • 1TB OneDrive Storage 
  • 50 GB Acronis Backup 
Advanced features
  • eDiscovery Tools
  • Endpoint management 
  • In-domain live-streaming
  • Enhanced Security 
  • eDiscovery 
  • Email Retention Policies
  • Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection 
  • Free Deployment Support
Interface and Ease of Use
  • Google Apps are less cluttered
  • Minimum loading time
  • Web-app feature for offline functions 
  • No option for Installations in Google Workspace
  • Formatting Issues
  • Low Formatting Issues
  • Collaborative and Flexible
  • Always in Sync 
  • Compatibility Issues
  • Heavy Updates 
  • Available for both web and desktop versions.
  • Full Installations for Microsoft 365 applications.
Business Applications & Tools
  • Gmail
  • Google Drive
  • Google Docs
  • Google Sheets
  • Google Meet
  • Google Slides
  • Google Keep
  • MS office Exchange
  • Microsoft OneNote
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft OneDrive
  • Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 
Corporate Communication Tools 
  • Google Chat for Instant Messaging
  • Google Voice for real-time communication 
  • Google Meet for video conferencing 
  • Teams for video conferencing
  • Yammer for social networking.
  • Outlook for email and calendars.
  • SharePoint to learn and collaborate using Microsoft 365 features.
Collaboration & Productivity 
  • Google Meet supports 250 participants
  • Supports advanced features in premium plans
  • Microsoft Teams supports 300 people.
  • Initiates collaboration to access meetings, apps, chats, and files.
Security 
  • Two-step verification 
  • Detects phishing, spam, and unusual activities. 
  • Standard support for data loss
  • Google cloud protection 
  • Data Encryption 
  • Multi-factor authentication 
  • Web and Phone support
  • Prevention and backup for data loss
  • Detection of spam and malware 
  • Data Encryption 

 

Accelerate Digitalization with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace 

With Google Workspace, SMEs can promote team development and boost productivity by adopting cloud-based solutions.

Digitalization using Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace will help your organization to gain more control.

As industry leaders, both MS office and GWS (formerly known as G Suite) aim to become the single solution for your businesses to enrich your business with productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness.

1. Gmail vs Outlook 

If you want a clean and strong interface, Gmail is the right choice for you in google workspace.

However, if you are looking for a feature-rich email client you should opt for Outlook.

2. Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams 

Google Meet limits its use to video conferencing whereas, Microsoft teams is an all-in-one application that collaborates video meetings with other Microsoft 365 features such as MS Office.

The Microsoft 365 suite includes Microsoft Teams features like screen sharing, 250+ app integrations, cloud storage, collaboration tools, customizable backgrounds, and easy guest access.

3. Google Keep vs Microsoft OneNote 

Google Keep is a note-keeping app available to G Suite users that includes texts, voice, images, checklists, drawing notes and themes.

OneNote by Microsoft 365 is an enriched version of Google Keep that includes web clipper, text, sketch, pictures, note-taking, password protection, etc.

Should you go for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? 

As seen, both the suites have a lot of similarities and offer similar benefits for a business. However, the key deciding factor could be that: 

  1. The Google Workspace suite has no installable desktop version, whereas Microsoft 365 is available for both web and desktop.
  2. Microsoft 365 or MS office comes at lower price than Google Workspace (GWS).
  3. The Microsoft 365 or MS office is sophisticated with powerful features which might take time to learn while Google Workspace (g suite) is easy to learn with simpler functionalities.
  4. Businesses must consider threat from unknown sources. Both Microsoft 365 and google workspace provide adequate data protection from software failure, natural disasters, power outages, phishing, and malware attacks, protecting your organization’s critical data.

If you are confused or unsure of what suite would be right for your business, connect with Exabytes to consult and select the right product. 

At Exabytes Singapore – we are available 24x7x365 for tech support and readily available in business hours for any sales and customer service consultation.

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Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 Collaboration Tools