Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice on whether to stick with Google Workspace or switch to Microsoft 365 for my growing company. Right now, we have around 100 users on Google Workspace's basic plan but I'm considering switching to M365 mainly for the cost benefits and increased storage—1TB per user compared to Google's 30GB. Plus, I like that Teams seems more robust than Google Chat, which lacks desktop applications.
In the next couple of years, I'm expecting our user base to exceed 300, pushing us into enterprise licensing. I'm concerned about losing Teams access and want to know if anyone's successfully combined Teams with an Enterprise M365 license.
Currently, we don't utilize much of what Workspace offers; we use Drive, Meet, and a few other tools that rely on Google as our identity provider. We're also transitioning from an Ubuntu-based setup to primarily Windows, as it's easier for our rapidly expanding team to manage. Any tips, warnings, or experiences related to this potential switch would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
5 Answers
Definitely go with M365! Google Workspace is hard to scale beyond 20 users. Microsoft 365 offers a more comprehensive solution for growing businesses.
Managing Google Workspace can be a nightmare from an admin perspective. Microsoft has its quirks, but overall, it's much easier to manage, especially for security and endpoint management. I had clients stuck with Google, and they always wished they switched to M365 sooner.
I've switched a company from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, and I highly recommend it. M365 can scale excellently and offers better features. Make sure to check the licensing tiers to avoid any surprises when you hit that 300-user mark, as you will need Enterprise licensing after that.
Thanks for the tip! How does the transition look from your experience? Are there significant changes on the admin side when switching to enterprise?
It's tricky. If your company has specific needs for collaboration or device management, M365 is the better choice. But if you have a more straightforward environment without complex IT requirements, Google Workspace might still work for you. Just make sure you consider what your users are used to and any potential re-training needed.
That's a good point! I’m definitely weighing how much retraining will impact us during the switch.
If you're planning to allow access for a lot of users who need Office, going with M365 is the way to go. The web version of Office can really help bridge any gaps without transitioning everyone to full desktop apps right away.
Totally agree! Google is often challenging to manage due to its frequent security prompts and user permissions issues.