Google Calendar vs. Microsoft 365

For small businesses or personal use, it works out well. The whole idea of a free platform on a free service is very alluring, especially if you don't have high end or high tech services for such a program already. Calendar would work in most business, school, and personal situations to keep track of where you're headed.

Incentivized

I usually recommend Microsoft 365 to my clients to keep them away from the Exchange server (sorry!) Our business has a lot of issues with exchange email functions and copy machines. I always recommend they download the desktop version and use the online version as needed. You never know when you will be without an internet connection, but you can usually trust your laptop will have a decent charge, and you can still be productive! Let it sync when the powers are back on - or your connection is alive.

• Makes it easy to schedule meetings and block off time
• I can see everyone in my org's calendar's as well which makes it convenient when scheduling calls with multiple people so I can see when they have overlapping availabilities.
• Integration with Zoom and Microsoft Teams for video calls that can be added from the calendar invite itself

Incentivized

• keeps me extremely organized. It is so easy to link calendars, emails, and documents.
• keeps me well connected. It is so easy to send a quick message on teams or send an email to a group (for example, my particular team within the company).
• easy to use. Everything is straightforward, making it easy to find an answer to a question. There is even a search option to figure out how to do something within Microsoft.

• Being able to group a team much easier so I don't have to add the same people over and over again without having to have access right to create a Google group
• Room or space management, because of repeating events the rooms of the office tend to be always "occupied" but not everyone is there due to how the new hybrid way of working is
• Better way of working together in the calendar events where it's easier for the team to prepare if I give a clearer better UI of all the documents/presentations they might need to look over

Incentivized

• I wish it was a little simpler to integrate things from one Microsoft Feature into another one. Perhaps I just don't know the tricks for that yet...after all these years of using it.
• I didn't like how it defaulted to saving the document automatically with changes, like Google Docs, but it seems that has now changed, and is better now.
• Generally, I really like how the suite works as is.

Incentivized

I am completely satisfied with the product, and helps me on a daily basis. I do not the exact cost (it is not a cheap suite) but on the medium and long term the return on investment is guaranteed.

Incentivized

It's a bit outdated on how things should be working, the UI per say hasn't changed much and I believe there is still a lot more room for improvement in how the calendar shows, the creating process, the parameters on setting up an event and it could be better integrated with the g-suite and other tools

Incentivized

It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.

The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.

It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.

Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.

Incentivized

Everything works and I use it all the time.

Incentivized

Google Calendar is a close competitor and I think wins in certain categories like general appearance and enabling focus hours & working hours. However, Microsft 365's calendar just seems like it has been built out more with a focus on business use case (despite still having many grievances with Microsoft 365).

BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the recent collaborative functionalities, nothing really stacks up or compares; this has everything a person in an office (oversimplifying) needs to get work done.

Incentivized

• Very significant improvement in employee productivity (more than 10%), because people spend much less time arranging meetings.
• Essential tool to develop remote work within the company during Covid.
• No need to build an email infrastructure (significant cost reduction in IT infrastructure).

Incentivized

• Microsoft 365 has really been effective and cost saving option for our organization in terms of managing the mailboxes, collaboration and messaging.
• There is multiple must have features which comes all together in one package and therefore is cost effective.
• The only negative impact according to me is its inability to protect the environment or domain from external attacks effectively.