Google Gains Ground On Microsoft Office (GOOG, MSFT)
The city of Washington D.C. recently signed a $500,000 contract so its 38,000 employees would use Google for spreadsheets, word processing and e-mail, rather than Microsoft Office, Bloomberg reports.
D.C. joins 500,000 other organizations that see Google as a feasible alternative to Microsoft. This probably has something to do with the fact that at least half of them use the free ad-supported Google suite, so they don’t have to pay anything, but Microsoft's Office feast is threatened either way.
Does this mean Office is going away tomorrow? Of course not. Does it mean that Microsoft should keep an eye on this trend? Definitely.
See Also:
Cloud Computing: The New Disruptive Technology
Google Disrupting Microsoft, Part 2: Office-Free Offices
Users are rapidly discovering the better way without all the needless complexity and expense.
Like a toothache last week, soon the Redmond rotting dung heap will be a mere bad memory.
Don't forget history. Netscape was also supposed to kill Microsoft too. So was Pepsi for Coke.
MSFT's cash cow is being skinned alive slowly. And expect more conversion as the recession arrives.
"Washington's workforce, about the same size as insurance company Allstate Corp., can also still use Microsoft Office."
So is Kundra attempting a combination of Microsoft Office and Google Apps? Or is he going 100% Google Apps? Maybe he's going to offer both options to the workforce and let them decide which they want to use.
Also, what's the implementation timeline here? This isn't going to happen overnight, so it'd be nice to know when we can come back and review how this went.
could you please offer some statistics/trends to demonstrate your thesis . . . rather than pointing to a single, tiny deal?
It is not just a cheap replacement. It is actually better. The Document sharing is so easy to use, that we really use it all the time.
Microsoft are not going to see a penny from us.
"Google's D.C. contract isn't a loss because the city and school district have multiyear agreements to use Windows and Office...."
I agree that it would (obviously) not be good for MSFT if large organizations stop licensing Office in favor of Google Docs (or Zoho, or whatever) but that's not what's happening here, and from the licensing data from both companies that doesn't appear to be happening more broadly yet either.
If and when large orgs start dumping Office, report that as such. But don't mislead your readers into thinking that's what's happening when an entity merely licenses Google Docs in addition to Office.
GOOGLE = FREEE
MSFT = $$$$$
That can't be more obvious which one will win back more customers. Ever since I started using google doc, I stop using MSFT office altogether and have all the docs transferred. Even if MSFT doesn't lose their business customers, they will lose big on the consumers. I anticipate huge conversions in Asia & developing countries as MSFT is pushing harshly on governments to enforce copyright laws and has caused a lot dis-sentiment.
So again, same conclusion, MSFT cash cow is being skinned alive regardless what's the news report is all about.
Please call me when Google Apps has 15-20 MILLION paid users because then Google Apps will be a real product paid for by real business users.
Until then, Google Apps is a joke!
BY THE WAY, The per user price Wash DC paid for Google Apps is $13.16 per user per year. A far cry from the $50 list price.
So the value of Google Apps actually be considered to be close to ZERO if you factor in all the FREE users of Google Apps.