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Microsoft Attacks Google Apps  (View post)

jdbradford [PersonRank 1]

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
16 years ago5,762 views


the fact that MS is even responding to Google Apps illustrates their fear that this is the thin end of the wedge. This says more about MS than Google.

RobotJ [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

Did anyone measure the uptime (downtime) of windows before XP ? ;) I guess MS would perform much more worse than Google

Delta Pi [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

I'am one of the first users of Google Mail for your Domain, turned after in the more complete Google Apps.

I use it regularly for my company (5 domains tied together) and for my family (two domains).

I am very satisfied but also very attentive to the evolution of the suite.
Here's my honest opinion about MS statements:

   1. Microsoft asks: How many enterprise users does GAPE really have?

MHO: It does hurt, does not it?

   2. Google often releases incomplete products to then issue incremental improvements without any official schedule – this is not what enterprise users want, says Microsoft.

MHO: yeah, incomplete and buggy products, service packs and additional patches. You must know something about it.

   3. Microsoft argues Google says GAPE is a low cost office option, but if enterprises still need to support MS Office, they will then actually have additional costs and complexity.
  
MHO: MS Office? What's MS Office? I use, instead, OpenOffice.org. Not a penny.

   4. Google makes most of their revenue via ads, with other services only on the 1% fringe, says Microsoft, wondering if Google will shut down their office products line if it doesn’t generate the right revenue.

MHO: Keep wondering. As soon as we can migrate all the data (and we can) this is not an issue. We lived the past 20 year wondering if MS would have keeping up supporting the MSDOS.

   5. Microsoft says Google Apps are mostly usable for non-power users and have less features than MS Office tools. Also, they mostly require the company to be always-online.

MHO: less features than OpenOffice.org, you mean. Always online? Are you joking? What about live.com?

   6. Google Apps “don’t have essential document creation features like support for headers, footers, table of content, footnotes etc.”.

MHO: yeah. that is true. We miss all those features. Hurry up Google. Or I will keep on using OpenOffice.org.

   7. MS says that Google defines a downtime for Gmail (for which they promise 99.9% uptime) as over 10 consecutive minutes of being unreachable. What, MS asks, if Google is down for 7 minutes every hour of a day?

MHO: just the timelapse and frequency of forced rebooting on many machines....

   8. Google’s direct tech support has limited opening hours. MS writes, “... M-F 1AM-6PM PST – are these the new hours of global business?”

MHO: Global business? You mean global business always online, I suppose?

   9. Microsoft writes that Google argues most people only use 10% of the features in today’s office products. Microsoft argues that however not everyone uses the same 10%.

MHO: I would write: "In today's OpenOffice.org products".

   10. As Google rolls out features on a constant basis, Microsoft says customers lose control of planning the update, and also aren’t able to sufficiently train their employees.

MHO: Update? It is a web based service. Non need of updating o installing anything. About employees training: I'm fed up of the "certified" professionals and "certified" courses that many company have been forced to hire to train employees.

Abhishek [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

Although Google's offerings are real basic in this space, everyone else realizes their potential.

Both MSFT and Zimbra made these announcements yesterday as they know what could be ahead of them.

I hope Google strengthens this further and ensures that this program wouldnt go down the way of Froogle or Answers.

Read more of my thoughts:

http://abhishek.tiwari.com/2007/09/10/google-drawing-heat-after-enterprise-market-announcement/

Inferno [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

Awesome 'Delta Pi'. Take that MSFT! Right in the face!

Eric Nentrup (http://ericnentrup.com) [PersonRank 0]

16 years ago #

Interestingly, I remember KODAK running ads a few years ago in the trade journals of Motion Picture professionals:

"Only 35mm offers TRUE High Definition"

Or something to that effect. I don't know what that technique is called, but I DO know that advertising's TRUE function is to PROTECT market share, not increase it.

MS is trying to STAY competitive with releases like this one. Unfortunately, the only folks who are going to waste any time on it are those of use who are true converts to what Google is doing. And it has less to do with the brand name Google....it's more about who is innovatively introducing (and maintaining) products that serve the customer.

sadff [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

This is such a bad joke.... Google apps isn't meant to replace an office (you can, but you don't have to)

it's great in combination with ms office or open office, but seriously, microsoft is just making a fool of itself by asking such stupid questions

RC [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

This is the first time they acknowledged officially the existence of Office suite. It means, Google Office has finally got considerable traction with the enterprise crowd that MS officially has to put something up against it.

Haha. Score 1 – Google!

Eric Cranston [PersonRank 3]

16 years ago #

MS Office is better at the moment of course. It's far more developed....but for digital brainstorming, notepad or just simple writing. Google Apps is where it's at...and the price tag is much more attractive then MS Office.

Roger Browne [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

This really smacks of desperation from Microsoft.

If the questions listed by Microsoft are not problematic, then there's no reason to avoid Google's offerings. If the questions listed by Microsoft are genuinely problematic, then all of the objections apply to Microsoft's online services too. Microsoft loses both ways.

At least Google currently has a policy of not holding your data hostage, whereas Microsoft has patented the opposite idea:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/11/1228241

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1064/1358325795_2545188f44_o.jpg

Mrrix32 [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

Google being down for 7 Min an hour? I'd be distracted for longer than that by the pigs flying past my window :)

Also I wouldn't notice as windows would take that long to open firefox, hang up, then decide to start working just as I reach Google on my DS (what's just happened to me incase you where wondering)

David Mulder [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

Google already included in their Google Pack Staroffice, and I guess there should be enough people who use Google Apps + Google pack, so in that case it aren't additional costs.

TOMHTML [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

The argument #1 sucks, IMHO.

I was in a conference in Paris and I chatted with a PR of Google France about that, she said, in short, "no comment, it doesn't need it, users are smart enough".

lmao [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

2. Google often releases incomplete products to then issue incremental improvements without any official schedule?
   – Microsoft never sticks to its schedule anyway.
   3. Enterprises still need to support MS Office?
   – Microsoft shareholders hope.
   4. Google makes most of their revenue via ads?
   – Microsoft makes its money through a constant upgrade cycle.
   7. What, MS asks, if Google is down for 7 minutes every hour of a day?
   – What are the down times for Microsoft products? Looking at you Mr Blue Screen.
   9. Microsoft writes that Google argues most people only use 10% of the features in today’s office products. Microsoft argues that however not everyone uses the same 10%.
   – Hands up who uses Cut, Copy, Paste, Bold, etc.
   10. As Google rolls out features on a constant basis, Microsoft says customers lose control of planning the update, and also aren’t able to sufficiently train their employees.
   – As Microsoft rolls out new versions on a constant basis, employees need to be retrained. Looking at you Mr Office 2007

Mooose [PersonRank 0]

16 years ago #

Take a look at GMail. It is now the most complete email client online and I like it much more than Outlook in the meantime – and I was a long time Outlook before.

If Gapps develops the same as Gmail has done, than MS really has to fear GAPE.

jim spencer [PersonRank 1]

16 years ago #

Is there a solution available that is equivalent to Outlook in terms of sharing schedules, calendar and contacts among a company's users?

Tony Ruscoe [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

Jim, if your company uses Google Apps, you can allow all your users to share contacts and calendar schedules.

Philipp Lenssen [PersonRank 10]

16 years ago #

Some days ago:

"As Google rolls out features on a constant basis, Microsoft says customers lose control of planning the update"

Now:

--> "Confirmed: Microsoft is fiddling with system files without permission"
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=774

--> "Confirmation of stealth Windows Update"
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=779

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