IT Brief New Zealand - Technology news for CIOs & IT decision-makers
Story image
Microsoft: Google Docs isn't worth the gamble
Mon, 13th May 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Microsoft has again locked heads with long-time rival Google, dismissing Google Docs in a new video advert released over the weekend.

In a full-frontal attack, the software giant posted two official blog posts - both aimed in the direction of the internet search giant.

Headlined as "Guys ... I've got deficiencies", Microsoft leaves nothing unturned during the posts, using Google's own words as drivers for the campaign.

"Google Docs has deficiencies when compared to Microsoft Office," wrote Jake Zborowski, senior product manager, Microsoft Office.

"Google publicly admits Google Docs is deficient, stating: "We know the gaps between our features and theirs."

"Google also states that it only intends to target 90% of the user base of Office.

"Google's gaps are not just advanced features used by a few people."

Claiming that many basic features are missing from Google Docs such as grammar check, support for columns, custom date formats, slide numbers, and mail merge, Zborowski didn't stop there.

"Add to that the many more advanced capabilities missing from Google Docs like Power Pivot, SmartArt, watermarks, master slides, image editing, slicers, and information rights management - and you watch your productivity start to decline," he wrote.

Following Microsoft's "Scroogled" advertising campaign reported last month, added to the April Fools' mocking of Google's search engine in the form of 'Bing Basic, the company finished finished the posts with a video - titled 'Google Docs isn't worth the gamble.'

"Why take the gamble on converting your Office files to Google Docs when you can use Microsoft Office and the Microsoft Office Web Apps to create, share and edit your Office files with your content intact?," Zborowski wrote.

"When you build and share compelling, accurate, and impactful information, make sure you get what you bargained for."