Document Collaboration Software: What Is The Best Program Google Docs Or Microsoft Office 365?

Shane is an independent photographer who is making waves in the downtown Los Angeles area. He and his team of 3 are still in the early phase of their enterprise but their impressive output has a lot of people lining up for their services. Shane is on the watch for a document collaboration software that would allow him and his team to huddle, exchange content, documents, images, and other media pertaining to their work. He asks which document collaboration software platform would be best to work with. Google Drive or Microsoft Office 365?

“Hey! I have been wondering which document collaboration software I should integrate to my current small business setup. I am down to two and it’s a tough bout between Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365. Your expertise on this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!”

Hello Shane! It is cool that you have filtered down your options and you got two of the best document collaboration software programs on your list. And if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t know which is better if I don’t invest some serious time in reading review and side by side comparison articles. Both Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365 have their strengths and a few flaws. I have listed several things that highlight each document collaboration software solution and hope that they will help you come to an intelligent decision.

Google Docs

Google Docs comes as the top choice for many business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelance professionals such as yourself. Why? Because it is loaded with so much advantages especially for the small startups that can’t afford to invest good money on a good document collaboration software.  For one, it is free and all you need to do is open an account with Google. Two, Google Docs is a flexible platform that allows users to create, edit, upload, and download various types of files including documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawing, and other web based forms.

Communication among team members stems from Google’s built-in chat system as well as Gmail. Also, users can talk within the document interface, allowing them to share insights and pour suggestions while discussing, creating, and editing content in real time. Users can also leave notes as well.

More applications and functions can be attained for a paid version of Google Docs. For only $50 a year, one can easily have limitless cloud hosted storage facility provided by Google. And for such amount, you are saving a lot of money, enabling you to channel your funds to other important matters.

Microsoft Office 365

It’s like Microsoft Office, only better. It has all the applications you normally found in a on MS Office Suite, like Word, Excel, Paint, and other business related apps. But this time, it is now linked to the Internet and that means you can also come in contact with other Office 365 users from all over the globe who are online. You access Word, Excel, and other Office apps via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Another reason why using Microsoft Office 365 tops any other document collaboration software is that you don’t have to worry about patches, updates, and all that stuff. Microsoft does all the dirty work for you. Maintenance and updating will be the least of your problems, or so the software vendors say.

Cost is not a problem as well. Compared to other document collaboration software available in the market, Office 365 only costs $4 a month for the small business package. That’s a huge chunk of savings from your business budget.

In conclusion, even I can have a hard time deciding which would suit my needs and wants as both programs have the tools and the applications to cater to every single business need I have in mind. I would suggest that you really dig in, delve deeper as to which can provide you the best service and start from there. Reviews and comparison articles can help but I would suggest you go with what your common sense and business sense both dictate.

By James Anthony

A senior FinancesOnline writer on SaaS and B2B topics, James Anthony passion is keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge practices (other than writing personal blog posts on why Firefly needs to be renewed). He has written extensively on these two subjects, being a firm believer in SaaS to PaaS migration and how this inevitable transition would impact economies of scale. With reviews and analyses spanning a breadth of topics from software to learning models, James is one of FinancesOnline’s most creative resources on and off the office.