Microsoft touts anti-Google customers in latest Office 365 offensive

Posted on October 16, 2013 at 12:33 pm

Microsoft has lined up a series of customers to dismiss the enterprise credentials of Google’s Apps as the battle for businesses between the two heavyweights rumbles on.

Both firms have been taking pot shots at one another for a while, with Microsoft’s infamous ‘Scroogled’ campaign warning firms of the limitations of Google’s software. However, Google was able to bask in the glow of the city of Boston’s decision to ditch Microsoft’s software for its Apps services.

In a blog post on the eve of the Google I/O conference, Microsoft presented a series of customers that have been unhappy with Google to let them voice their frustrations.

Arysta Lifescience, an agrochemical company with 3,400 employees in 125 countries, had been a Google Apps customer, but staff were unhappy with its services and so it switched to Redmond.

Dustin Collins, global head of IT infrastructure at Arysta LifeScience, said: “Google Apps was difficult to use and lacked the capabilities our employees had grown accustomed to in Office. With Office 365 we’re able to interact and engage with each other more, allowing us to efficiently and quickly respond to new opportunities. As a result, we’re a more agile, competitive organisation.”

Microsoft also highlighted Office 365’s compliance with security standards like ISO 27001 as another reason customers are ditching Google for its offerings. One such customer it cited is human development organisation FHI 360, which has 4,000 staff.

Douglas Wilkins, director of IT infrastructure at FHI 360, said: “As a non-profit organisation, we work on educational and public health issues and must comply with privacy regulations related to the U.S. federal government. Not only did Office 365 have privacy features in line with our requirements, but we know where our data is stored – it’s essential for us to have control and set parameters on who views it. That was not possible with Google.”

In a bid to make it enterprise offering more attractive to customers, Google has this week increased the amount of Apps storage on offer to 30GB.

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