Google enlists Microsoft VoIP partner to unseat Office 365+Skype

You're almost right

The problem isn't that O356 is a better product, it's what you put in the last two paragraphs; there is an entrenched segment of the market that will always think they need the O365 solution, because: training. I've used both products, and for work or home Google Docs, and related services do a great job. I don't have to purchase any licenses with it, and it works across many devices. Having used O365/Skype at my last gig I can tell you this; O365 goes down, or it's otherwise unavailable, more often that you would hope. It fails to work with non-Windows browsers in little, but meaningful ways. Like it would never EVER remember my settings for Keep Me Logged In, or whatever they called it. It just lacked anything that made me want to use it instead of the desktop apps, and we had no choice in the matter. The Exchange client worked well otherwise, and had many of the same setups as it's desktop counterpart, but it was no replacement for a desktop client. Maybe 75% replacement, 25% annoyance. With my Google services the connectivity was rock solid and hardly ever had a glitch. Again, it's free. How can they do that?! I guess it's not so free if you spring for the enterprisey appliance/services, but at a consumer level does O365 have freeness built in? Let me check...nope, looks like it's subscription only, and not just a sign up with your email for free service like the Google apps/services. Plus, why the stingy Skype 60 minutes per month? Didn't Skype used to be free, for however long you were in the session? Just little shitty things like that make me avoid O365.

So, for entrenched sites that can't bear to learn any different apps, other than when their current app upgrades and forced the issue, O365 is your man. But, from a usability standpoint, and a cost standpoint, I get everything I need from the Googly apps, and I even have free Apple versions of some of that stuff to fall back on, if I don't use a LibreOffice, or other Open Office variant. Cloud is never an issue, since you can download your docs to your device, if you prefer. So, I can see why O365 is succeeding, but it's just old momentum that will probably suffer at the hands of the GWX madness that has struck Redmond these past few months. Hopefully a shift to more modern computing systems on the desktop, fueled by bad W10 experiences, will be in the future, or not. If you knew this you could make some money, couldn't you? And the segmentation of the O365 clients will help beef up the compatibility with non-Edge browsers, you would hope. Time will tell. It is known.

In my world of micro-businesses and private customers, Libre Office is king. Horses for courses?

Between the lines

A half true spin article. This is just a partnership being sold as something strategic for Google.

Come on, your expect us to believe that Google is worried about Microsoft and does this? Have you seen the pricing? Surely you don't go to all the effort to create WebRTC and then partner with a small telco that makes you more money than you from the deal and gives you nothing.

BTW, Skype for business is rubbish as a replacement for the telephone. I haven't got time to qualify this, flames from happy users only please.

Google is failing because it is rubbish

The management are pushing Google at work, but people are still using MS Office, which is still on workstations, because it interfaces with all the other software.

Google's DOCs don't work very well with collaboration, as we have people fighting with filters... two people working on the same document at the same time, fight with different filter views.

The UK dictionary is a disgrace and Google were informed about this last year.

Their spreadsheet system lacks many of the features critical to the finance department.

The hangouts, which started as a lean, mean system, is now so bandwidth/processor heavy and packed with useless features, that it does not befit business usage.

There is a lack of proper archiving systems for people who leave the organisation; they go and the account gets deleted... and the docs they authored go to.

Want me to keep going?

Google Apps vs Office 365

Having used as Office365 as Google Apps in a corporate environment, I strongly vote in favor of Google Apps: much less expensive, a very good administration interface, very easy tools to use for users (forms and blogs are very handy!), good reporting, a very reactive support.

And the most important: no 'ribbons' in their apps! ^^

"Sixty-one per cent of organizations have existing or planned Office 365 deployments"

A meaningless statistic as no context is given.

Remember MS pushed an O365 subscription as the upgrade to Office standalone for SMB's a few years back. So given their numbers, they are likely to influence any statistic based simply on the number of organisations.

Additionally, with the exception of Office 365 Enterprise E1, all subscriptions include the fully installed client applications. Hence, does the figure actually represent the number of organisations with O365 subscriptions? Because I suspect many have 'deployed' O365 but only use the standalone client applications.