Google Workspace superior to Microsoft 365

While Google Workspace is no longer discussed as an alternative to Microsoft 365, Microsoft is still favored by CIOs - the strength and comfort of habit perhaps. However, Google Workspace is superior for those who want to make the digital transformation of the work environment.

To move on from last century's computing

Traditional organizational structures and ways of working no longer fit the rapidly changing world and technology in which we live.

An employee uses technology at home that is much more efficient and enjoyable than at the office, where he or she works in a setting that has basically not changed since the 1990s.

Receptivity to IT tools has also changed. Young organizations expect the tools to meet their needs. They do not want to have to evolve within a rigid framework imposed by IT. This is why shadow IT is multiplying in traditional structures because the historical IT does not meet the needs of exchanges and collaboration of employees.

Google has understood this by creating tools that are fundamentally simple and user-oriented.

SMEs poorly advised

Still too many small and medium-sized companies only approach the subject from the point of view of hardware and software renewal. Most often not even evaluating Google Workspace - if not ignoring its existence. The reason is that their IT providers are struggling to get out of their comfort zone, to see Google as a credible alternative and to understand the new challenges of collaboration and digital transition.

Today, it is no longer about the digitization of infrastructure (computerization) but about the digitization of interactions (collaboration). This requires a radically different approach to IT.

IT departments will then often provide out-of-the-box advice, uncomfortable with the cloud - which can be more complex than it seems - and especially uncomfortable with the real issues related to collaboration.

The issue is not a software choice

The digital transition also concerns the workspace. It is becoming urgent to realign the tools and ways of doing things with the requirements of today's fertile and turbulent environment. It is a key factor of competitiveness for companies as well as a challenge for the serenity and satisfaction of employees.

It must be a true transformation, not a software upgrade. The future of the company, employee satisfaction and employability are at stake.

It's becoming essential for people to fundamentally rethink the way they do things and move away from the old ways of working - such as sending thousands of emails and attachments.

Read about: Hyperconnected: the brain at risk

And it's much easier to work with a tool that, from its conception, breaks radically with the working methods and concepts of the past, rather than working with a tool (Office 365) that remains, in the end, quite similar to what we've been using until now.

Why choose Google Workspace

Choosing Google Workspace over Microsoft 365 will give you the opportunity to create a clean break with the past and put employees in the right frame of mind for major transformations.

Tom Enders, Airbus CEO says: "Airbus has decided to take a major step by switching to Google Suite. We need technologies that actively support our new ways of working, modern tools that allow us to be fully collaborative. Choosing Google Workspace is a strategic choice, a clear break with the past".

Workspace will considerably simplify your task by creating a break in the environment and habits, which will allow you to step back and renegotiate your ways of doing things. A change program including trainings and workshops will be much more accepted because it is self-evident.

Read about it: Choosing between G Suite and Microsoft 365

Conversely, moving from a traditional Microsoft environment to Office 365 will be perceived as an upgrade, possibly a major one, but in no way a transformation vector. The reluctance to a change program will be considerably stronger.

The simpler, more elegant productivity tools provided with Google Workspace create a less steep learning curve for users new to online collaboration.

With Microsoft 365, the challenge is to make a break with the past - and that's what it should be: a break with the '90s way of working -, which will require more effort than with Google Workspace.

Conclusion

Obviously our article is without concession in favor of Google Workspace. Our opinion is based on our experience in companies. We consider that if the quality of collaboration is a major concern, then Google Workspace is without question the best choice.

Not to change is too expensive. It is illusory to think that you can remain competitive with the tools and methods of the past century. Or you will soon be out of business.

In either case, you need to treat the choice of Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace not as a technical choice but as something that should support and promote a change in mindset and ways of doing things.