Google & Microsoft : A Thoughtful Comparison by UC Berkeley

Image via CrunchBase

I was not surprised by the University of California Berkeley’s decision to pick Google over Microsoft. Several educational institutions have shown proclivity towards Google. I was intrigued that the decision was not purely based on cost. Speed and ease of migration, integration with Collaboration tools, API alignment, and usability were the key factors that led to UC Berkeley’s decision.

While there were areas where Microsoft Office 360 shined but overall result of the analysis led UC Berkeley to pick Google for productivity tools.

Here is a link to the detailed matrix.. most comprehensive comparative analysis between Google and Microsoft, yet.

The following matrix supports the recent email and calendar solution for the UC Berkeley campus. This matrix is *not* intended to be a comprehensive review of all features but rather focused on items of particular interest to UC Berkeley. This matrix was one tool used in our assessment and was designed and written particularly for the UC Berkeley environment. It is based on the opinions of the assessment team.

Image via Wikipedia

The evaluation was undertaken as part of the Operational Excellence (OE) sponsored Productivity Suite project and focused on features and requirements to meet key objectives of OE including service improvement, project and operating cost, speed of deployment, architectural alignment, accessibility, storage of data in the United States, and privacy and security issues. For more information, see Campus Selects Google as New Email and Calendar Solution.