Nearly two decades ago, Google stepped up with a  cloud-based solution to challenge Microsoft's dominance of office productivity software. Today, Google can claim a significant lead in the global marketshare of Google Workspace over Microsoft 365 Copilot. But does that mean Google has better products, or just better marketing?

The answer isn't cut-and-dried. While Workspace and Microsoft 365 possess broad similarities, they also diverge in key respects. The right choice depends on how these differences intersect with your goals.

The reviews I studied displayed a general consensus that Google Workspace is best for organizations which prize seamless collaboration above other considerations. Some analysts also see Workspace as the better solution for small business. Microsoft 365, on the other hand, may be the wisest choice for the security measures large enterprises require.

Google built collaboration into their office applications from the start, and they retain a wide lead in this area today. While Microsoft offers collaboration in Microsoft 365, it's neither as powerful nor as easy as that included in Workspace.

Both office suites provide basic security features, such as data encryption in transit and at rest, two-factor authentication, and anti-phishing/anti-spam measures. But, perhaps due to its long partnership with big business, Microsoft has taken a deeper dive on security, offering full-fledged data, identity, and endpoint management, as well as more capable threat and data protection.

Of course, advanced features often come with higher price-points. Small businesses may not have the budgets or the skills to implement all of Microsoft's bells-and-whistles. And if they don't operate in high-risk, high-compliance environments, like finance or healthcare, they may not need them.

One additional area where Google may have a slight edge is the inclusion of generative AI in its office suite. They recently announced they will bundle a version of Gemini, their artificial intelligence platform, in their Workspace business and enterprise plans. Microsoft offers something similar with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. But John Pettit, the CTO at Google partner Promevo, told CRN in an interview he believes Gemini is better integrated across its office suite. According to the article linked above, Pettit particularly praised one of the tools Google offers with Gemini: "...Agent Builder is pretty amazing in terms of being able to create your own search agents and chat agents with low code."

In the end, your choice of an office productivity suite will come down to your specific needs, your fundamental business objectives, and your comfort level with making trade-offs to get the best fit. There are no perfect solutions, but there are approaches that work better in particular situations. Which is which in your case depends on your unique situation.