Comparing Google and Microsoft Exchange 2010

Organizations today—more than ever—need adaptable and cost-effective communication tools. Microsoft Exchange 2010 helps achieve new levels of reliability and performance by delivering features that simplify administration, help protect communications, and delight users by meeting their demands for greater business mobility.

Microsoft Exchange, the cornerstone of Microsoft's Unified Communications solution, has long been the choice of organizations to enable rich and productive collaboration among its users. With the latest release of Exchange, users are assured the widest range of deployment options, the richest user experience, and built-in protection and compliance capabilities for their information. These features combine to form the best messaging and collaboration solution available. Microsoft Exchange Server is the leader in the messaging marketplace regardless of how success is measured. Although Google promotes the Gmail service as a competitor to Exchange for messaging, the relatively limited function and customer experience fall short.

Microsoft offers the richest user experience with full utility

With the rich, familiar user experience for users on mobile devices, the Web, and their PCs, Microsoft delivers an unparalleled messaging experience wherever your users are.

Google offers a limited feature solution that is more suited for a deskless worker—a user who needs fewer capabilities and who is not connected to a computer for a majority of their work day, such as factory floor workers or retail clerks. Microsoft also recognizes the need for a low-cost, tailored solution for these employees and offers the Exchange Online Deskless Worker offering for less than half ($24 per user per year) of what Google charges ($50 per user per year) for messaging.

For information workers, Microsoft offers a consistent three-screen experience from the user’s PC, mobile phone, and Web browser, so users get consistent functionality and predictability in experience and IT benefits from reduced help desk calls and training needs. With Google’s Web-based experience, users have to learn a new navigation model and new terminology. Google offers limited offline, desktop capabilities with Google Gears and an inconsistent mobile experience.

For the PC and mobile, Google relies heavily on Microsoft technology. On the desktop, Google, like many other vendors, created a plug-in to connect Microsoft Office Outlook. Plug-ins pose problems in stability, deployment, configuration, and feature gaps.

Evidence

CIF chooses Microsoft over Google
Credit Immoblier de France is a 3,000 FTE firm that evaluated Google and realized it was not enterprise ready.
Datatune switches from GAPE to BPOS
Datatune is a small (25 FTE) company that tried GAPE as their primary infrastructure. They realized it was a mistake and moved to a more reliable and familiar enviroment with BPOS and Office.
SaaS-it Consult
Danish Consulting firm with 100 employees picks BPOS over Google Apps.
Procore
Customer picks BPOS over GAPE "We looked at Google Apps, but it doesn’t offer the range of services that is found in Microsoft Online Services.”
Michigan Dept of IT
State Agency with 56,000 workers picks MSFT solutions. Acknowledges Google Apps isn't ready to support their needs.

In general, plug-ins lack capabilities that users are accustomed to, which lead to reduced productivity and user dissatisfaction. Plug-ins also must be deployed to each desktop, so IT or the users are burdened with configuration and deployment overhead that Exchange does not require. AutoDiscovery in Exchange enables users to enter their e-mail addresses and passwords, and Outlook is completely configured without IT intervention, even from outside the corporate firewalls.

On the mobile phone, Google has implemented Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for mobile device connectivity. However, Google has not implemented many of the control capabilities, so IT departments cannot manage information on the mobile device, putting information at risk. When it comes to client experiences, the Microsoft consistent experience for the PC, mobile phone, and browser, enables users to maintain uncompromised productivity wherever they are. In contrast, Google offers a patchwork experience that lacks important IT controls for your business.

Software and Services to Fit Your Needs

Google provides a messaging service with no on-premises solution, which presents customers with a services ultimatum. In contrast, Exchange offers the same leading capabilities as an on-premises server and as a service in the cloud. Exchange Server, Exchange Online, and a seamless combination of the two, provide complete flexibility and choice so you can customize the deployment for your unique needs— without tradeoffs. With Exchange Server 2010 you can put certain groups, like your R&D division, in an on-premises Exchange server deployment to ensure that your organization manages intellectual property and that it complies with policies and regulations. You can provide factory floor workers with cost-effective, services-based messaging through Exchange Online.

While Microsoft is opening up the world of possibilities and allowed freedom of choice, Google provides only one option, hosted as a service.

Enterprise software at Internet scale

Microsoft has a long history in delivering leading enterprise-class software. Exchange has been delivering the enterprise capabilities that IT professionals require for over 12 years. We work with our customers to continually advance solutions that provide the management capabilities and IT controls that they need. For example, role-based administration allows IT administrators to delegate tightly defined control to specific users to perform their roles, so the compliance officer can enable e-mail discovery, or the help desk can set mailbox storage limits. Whether you choose Exchange Server or Exchange Online, you can be confident it is built on a proven Internet-scale infrastructure.

In contrast, Google has brought consumer grade software to the enterprise. Google has taken software and tools that were designed for users who do not need manageability or control and have applied that model to environments with complex management requirements. For example by providing only one level of administrative control, the burden on IT personnel is increased or the environment is put at risk if untrained users have excessive system-wide control.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 delivers the broadest range of choice and flexibility for customers in enterprise-ready solutions. Exchange on premises, as a service, or as a hybrid of both is proven. Exchange options don’t force customers to compromise capabilities for price, but offer customers a familiar, three-screen experience solution that fits within customers’ needs and their means.

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