Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: care este mai bun? (Luke Watts)

Microsoft Office used to be the only office software that mattered (at least in the business world). Now, Microsoft is working to sideline its traditional office software in favour of its cloud-orientated counterpart Microsoft 365. That in turn is facing
serious competition from Google Workspace.

Dacă alegi între ele, asta este ceea ce trebuie să știi.

De securitate și confidențialitate 

This is baked into both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. The exact security options you get depend on your price plan. This is because they reflect the anticipated needs of users on that price plan. For example, people on higher-grade price plans are
likely to have more users and hence need more robust user-management tools. Both options are also GDPR compliant. 

Structura prețurilor 

Atât Microsoft 365, cât și Google Workspace sunt livrate ca servicii, mai degrabă decât achiziții unice. Aceasta înseamnă că plătiți taxe recurente. Acestea se bazează pe numărul de utilizatori pe care îi aveți și pe serviciile de care aveți nevoie. 

The details of what’s included in each package can and do change, albeit not very often. If a change to your package does put you at a disadvantage, then you can switch to the other. Technically, this is not particularly difficult. With that said, it’s not
something you want to do regularly either. You would, however, need to think about the impact on the user experience.  

Cum se accesează serviciile 

Microsoft 365 is still based on a desktop client. This can be installed on devices running current versions of Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. It also has a web interface that can be accessed through all current browsers. At present, however, the functionality
of the online apps is more limited than the functionality of the desktop client.  

Google Workspace, by contrast, is web-based by default. This means that it works on any device that can run a browser and go online. If you want to work offline, you can do so on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. You can also install local clients on Android
și dispozitive iOS. 

Funcționalitatea de bază 

At a high level, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are effectively identical. Microsoft set the standard for office software. Google simply replicated it. For example, Microsoft has Word, Google has Docs. Microsoft has Excel, Google has Sheets. Microsoft
has PowerPoint, Google has Slides and so on. 

Once you go more in-depth, however, you will notice differences between the two offerings. These differences typically reflect the fact that Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have different priorities. Microsoft 365 typically prioritises functionality over
ease of use. Google Workspace does the opposite.  

Microsoft Outlook versus Google Gmail 

This is one area where the functionality of the two options is virtually identical. There is, however, one key difference between them. Outlook supports folders. Gmail doesn’t. What’s more, it’s probably not going to. This was not an oversight. It was a
design decision Google made at the launch of Gmail. 

The decision not to support folders was controversial at the time. Even now, there are people who don’t like it and hence prefer Outlook (and alternatives such as Thunderbird). Overall, however, Google seems to have made its point. Its labelling system is
essentially the equivalent of the hashtags that now rule the internet. 

Outlook and Gmail have very different interfaces and hence a very different look and feel. Arguably, neither is better than the other. Which one you prefer depends on your personal taste. Gmail integrates natively with Android devices and Chromebooks. Both
Outlook and Gmail can, however, be used on a range of devices, including iOS ones. 

Calendar Outlook versus Google Calendar 

In terms of functionality, both options are more or less the same. They simply use different terminology. There is, however, one, potentially, important difference. Google Calendar offers much more granular sharing and viewing permissions than Outlook Calendar.
This makes it a lot easier to adjust ownership of participation in and attendance at events. 

De asemenea, faptul că Google Calendar se integrează nativ cu Android și ChromeOS, îi conferă, fără îndoială, un avantaj. Dispozitivele Android sunt deja utilizate pe scară largă în afaceri. Chromebookurile cresc în mod constant în popularitate. 

Microsoft Word versus Google Docs 

Probabil că este corect să descriem Word ca o versiune mai redusă, mai ușor de utilizat a Microsoft Publisher. Dacă trebuie să creați în mod regulat documente care impresionează, Word face procesul relativ ușor. 

Google Docs are un set mult mai limitat de instrumente creative. Totuși, acest lucru îi oferă o interfață mai simplă și mai curată și, prin urmare, îl face mai ușor de utilizat. Google Docs are, de asemenea, suport mult mai bun pentru lucrul în colaborare decât Microsoft Word în prezent. 

Pentru a fi complet, dacă aveți nevoie doar ocazională de a produce documente bogat formatate, vă recomandăm să luați în considerare utilizarea Google Docs plus Canva. Canva este disponibil atât în ​​versiune gratuită, cât și contra cost. Chiar și versiunea gratuită are o mulțime de funcționalități. 

Microsoft Excel versus Google Sheets 

At present, heavy-duty users will almost certainly see Microsoft Excel as the only feasible option. What’s more, this seems unlikely to change. Microsoft Excel is very much geared towards power users such as financial professionals. It is notoriously difficult
pentru toți ceilalți. 

Google Sheets is the opposite. It is designed to be a simple tool for regular people to create simple spreadsheets. It’s also designed to support collaborative working. That means Google Sheets is great if you’re using spreadsheets for tracking rather than
calculation. Users can access and update them easily and hence quickly. 

Microsoft PowerPoint versus Google Slides 

Dacă ideea ta despre o prezentare grozavă este multimedia și tranziții, atunci Microsoft PowerPoint este probabil instrumentul pentru tine. Face adăugarea de diagrame, grafice, tabele și orice altceva mult mai ușoară decât este cu Google Slides.  

On the other hand, presenters emphasising impressive visuals over meaningful content is part of the reason why the phrase “death by PowerPoint” was coined. The fact that Google Slides has more limited options for visuals could potentially be considered a
beneficiu. 

În primul rând, înseamnă că Google Slides este mai ușor de învățat. În al doilea rând, îi încurajează pe prezentatori să se concentreze pe mesajul de bază și pe propriile abilități de prezentare. Ca bonus, Google Slides este mult mai orientat spre lucrul în colaborare decât Microsoft PowerPoint.