Backbone is about business, technology, lifestyle, innovation, bold ideas, trends and events
Top 8 Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE) Pros and Cons | April 25, 2008
By Peter Wolchak
1. Software cost. GAPE is $50 annually per user. A full copy of Office Small Business Edition is $600, and volume licensing is not going to close that gap. The Burton Group estimates GAPE’s per-year cost is 17 per cent of the total Office cost. Winner: Google.
2. Support cost. Companies hire expensive tech support staff to, in part, help employees with Office; GAPE’s $50 fee includes tech support. Consider that one techie’s $50,000 salary would buy 1,000 GAPE licences. Winner: Google.
3. Productivity. Employees who need tech support are not being productive; software that is simpler to use causes fewer problems. Winner: Google.
4. Features. Microsoft Office is far more feature rich. Winner: Microsoft, for power users.
5. Risk. The mantra used to be “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” Now it’s Microsoft, and an executive sticks out his/her neck by championing the Google upstart. Winner: Microsoft.
6. Backup. Many companies do not back up their data. GAPE has backup baked in. Winner: Google.
7. Corporate data security. Google’s acquisition of Postini added an information security component, but similar solutions are widely available. Winner: Tie.
8. Offline functionality. Those who want to take a shot at GAPE have had one big meaty target: it doesn’t work without an Internet connection. However, Google is responding with Gears, a software widget that caches work to the hard drive when required and synchs online when the ’net becomes available. “All the applications in Google Apps will become offline enabled over the next year,” Girouard promised. Winner: Microsoft, but only for now.
1. Software cost. GAPE is $50 annually per user. A full copy of Office Small Business Edition is $600, and volume licensing is not going to close that gap. The Burton Group estimates GAPE’s per-year cost is 17 per cent of the total Office cost. Winner: Google.
2. Support cost. Companies hire expensive tech support staff to, in part, help employees with Office; GAPE’s $50 fee includes tech support. Consider that one techie’s $50,000 salary would buy 1,000 GAPE licences. Winner: Google.
3. Productivity. Employees who need tech support are not being productive; software that is simpler to use causes fewer problems. Winner: Google.
4. Features. Microsoft Office is far more feature rich. Winner: Microsoft, for power users.
5. Risk. The mantra used to be “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” Now it’s Microsoft, and an executive sticks out his/her neck by championing the Google upstart. Winner: Microsoft.
6. Backup. Many companies do not back up their data. GAPE has backup baked in. Winner: Google.
7. Corporate data security. Google’s acquisition of Postini added an information security component, but similar solutions are widely available. Winner: Tie.
8. Offline functionality. Those who want to take a shot at GAPE have had one big meaty target: it doesn’t work without an Internet connection. However, Google is responding with Gears, a software widget that caches work to the hard drive when required and synchs online when the ’net becomes available. “All the applications in Google Apps will become offline enabled over the next year,” Girouard promised. Winner: Microsoft, but only for now.
