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Google just keeps adding useful apps to their arsenal of online software. Spreadsheets, text documents, and the impending wiki…all made to offer an alternative to software based solutions that have to be purchased, installed, and live only on one computer rather than being available from anywhere. In response, a “representative from Microsoft” put out this list of 10 reasons why customers should not use Google apps. I’ve put in some responses after each.

“1. Google touts having enterprise level customers but how many “USERS” of their applications truly exist within the enterprise?

Why is this important? “No one else is using it!” is kind of like “If your friends told you to jump off a cliff…” Bad logic.

“2. Google has a history of releasing incomplete products, calling them beta software, and issuing updates on a “known only to Google” schedule – this flies in the face of what enterprises want and need in their technology partners – what is Google doing that indicates they are in lock step with customer needs?

And just how often does Microsoft let us know of bugs and updates? How often have you updated Office to find it runs WORSE rather than better? Transparency is key in business. I don’t see anything but opaque or one-way glass in MS’s practices.

“3. Google touts the low cost of their apps –not only price but the absence of need for hardware, storage or maintenance for Google Apps. BUT if GAPE is indeed a complement to MSFT Office, the costs actually become greater for a company as they now have two IT systems to run and manage and maintain. Doesn’t this result in increased complexity and increased costs?

This one made me laugh. How does using a free online app cause a company to have to maintain this no hardware, no software, no storage space solution? The office I work in uses both seamlessly. We use Google Docs to collaborate and Office to create final docs that go to customers. It’s not a burden. It’s more efficient.

“4. Google’s primary focus is on ad funded search. Their enterprise focus and now apps exist on the very fringe and in combination with other fringe services only account for 1% of the company’s revenue. What happens if Google executes poorly? Do they shut down given it will them in a minimal and short term way? Should customers trust that this won’t happen?

Any company has a right to discontinue service/products that become unprofitable. That’s just business. However, I think Google better understands that customer loyalty is important and that providing great free services contributes to trust and loyalty. MS, what have you given us lately?

“5. Google’s apps only work if an enterprise has no power users, employees are always online, enterprises haven’t built custom Office apps – doesn’t this equal a very small % of global information workers today? –On a feature comparison basis, it’s not surprising that Microsoft has a huge lead.

Haven’t these folks paid any attention to penetration rates of broadband and wifi? Today’s work force is becoming increasingly mobile and more communication dependent rather than software dependent. With Google apps I never have to worry about file formats, file size, or whether the computer I’m on has the right software.

“6. Google apps don’t have essential document creation features like support for headers, footers, tables of content, footnotes, etc. Additionally, while customers can collaborate on basic docs without the above noted features, to collaborate on detailed docs, a company must implement a two part process – work together on the basic doc, save it to Word or Excel and then send via email for final edits. Yes they have a $50 price tag, but with the inefficiencies created by just this one cycle, how much do GAPE really cost – and can you afford the fidelity loss?

Seems like passing a doc around to have headers, footers, and other cosmetic features approved would be a giant waste of time too. Besides, when I move from Office 2007 on my PC to Office 2000 on my Mac my formatting gets all screwed up anyway. If I really want to know that a doc will be consistent on any computer I have to convert it to PDF.

“7. Enterprise companies have to constantly think about government regulations and standards – while Google can store a lot of data for enterprises on Google servers, there is no easy to use, automated way for enterprises to regularly delete data, issue a legal hold for specific docs or bring copies into the corp. What happens if a company needs to respond to government regulations bodies? Google touts 99.9% uptime for their apps but what few people realize that promise is for Gmail only. Equally alarming is the definition Google has for “downtime” – ten consecutive minutes of downtime. What happens if throughout the day Google is down 7 minutes each hour? What does 7 minutes each hour for a full work day that cost an enterprise?

I’ve lost a whole lot more than 7 minutes an hour restarting Office 2007 (which has features I love and have written about before). I’ve never had to restart a Google doc or pound the Crtl+Alt+Delete to restart it or shut it down.

“8. In the world of business, it is always on and always connected. As such, having access to technical support 24/7 is essential. If a company deploys Google Apps and there is a technical issue at 8pm PST, Sorry. Google’s tech support is open M-F 1AM-6PM PST – are these the new hours of global business? And if a customer’s “designated administrator” is not available (a requirement) does business just stop?

“9. Google says that enterprise customers use only 10%of the features in today’s productivity applications which implies that EVERYONE needs the SAME 10% of the feature when in fact it is very clear that in each company there are specific roles people play that demands access to specific information – how does Google’s generic strategy address role specific needs?

A look at the GAPE info that’s been made available so far it seems that there will be some pretty powerful customization and it looks easier than macros in Word which have me slamming my head against the desk.

“10. With Google apps in perpetual beta and Google controlling when and if they rollout specific features and functionality, customers have minimal if any control over the timing of product rollouts and features – how do 1) I know how to strategically plan and train and 2) get the features and functionality I have specifically requested? How much money does not knowing cost?

“I invite you to speak with customers, partners and analysts who can validate Office’s business model.”

Yes, but Google has a great track record for rolling out small, easy to deal with updates rather than brand new versions of software with unfamiliar menus. It took me a month or two to get used to Office 2007 and I still have to hunt for familiar tools now and then.

Microsoft could learn a lot from Google’s online model of constantly updated apps. Google apps (enterprise or not) may not fit every company’s needs but MS’s products certainly don’t aid in efficiency, mobility, or adaptation to new business models.

What do you think?

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