A Google Biased Look at Microsoft Office 365

Launched in June 2011, Office 365 provides online storage space on Microsoft’s cloud service called OneDrive.  There are many ‘plans’ available, the majority aimed at businesses.  For this comparison with Google Docs/Apps, the Online Tools version was used.

Online Tools is a collaborative product can be accessed using browsers such as; Internet Explorer 9 or later, Firefox and Google Chrome, as well as Safari for OS X 10.6 or later.

It is home to a suite of tools such as; Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. There is also the email service called Outlook.com, a contacts list in People, Calendar and the home base called OneDrive.

Overall, it has been Microsoft’s ongoing answer/response to Google Docs and the ensuing suite of apps they also developed. Both are free, have student/education options and are collaborative.

Having very little experience with Microsoft products I signed up and created a few documents.  (I still have yet to share a document because they want a phone number!) Having some pretty good instincts, I managed to navigate its OneDrive formally known as SkyDrive (by the way, why couldn’t they come up with a name at least a little less like Google’s Drive?). (Who was first?)

I also decided to consult someone with a little more experience than myself, my son.  He is a first year science major at UW and a product of the WRDSB.  So he’s had to use both.  While he found Google much easier for its email system (gmail) and any essay writing, he was not impressed with Numbers or any Mac version of spreadsheets and graphing apps.  There are many science functions that can’t be done except in a Microsoft application. He uses Excel and it is on the computers at school.  He wished he had it at high school.

In 2009, I was at an ECOO conference and went to one of my first presentations of Google Docs.  It was pretty cool then and still is.  I’ve been hooked and comfortable with Google Applications ever since.  I even completed a Google Apps online certificate course a few years ago.  It’s amazing how much they grow each year.  I suppose Microsoft is also, but working in a Google Environment I am not aware of their progress. Having taught students how to use GAFE, I realize how easy to use it is.  I love that each app has basic commonalities such as naming, sharing, and filing.  During my first few days with Microsoft online tools I found it a little frustrating.  There is no ‘help’ option so I had to ‘google’ answers, just a little bit ironic!

I am glad to have had the opportunity and the motivation to try out the Microsoft product though.  I will certainly keep my eye on it and maybe someday even give them my phone number.  

Until then, Long Live Google Apps!!!