Business Technology Gsuite or Office365?

Discussion in 'Starting & Running a Business' started by hammer, 4th Jun, 2019.

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  1. hammer

    hammer Well-Known Member

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    My side hustle is growing and it's now at the stage where it's worth signing up to one of these services...

    Doc compatibility isn't a huge issue but I do need to start bringing other contractors and maybe even employees into the fold.

    Online storage is important.

    Any suggestions?
     
    hammer, 4th Jun, 2019
    #1
  2. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    If you are a heavy MS Office user, you may find Office365 more to your liking.

    Personally, I have been using G Suite to run my business for quite a few years now (I don't own any recent MS Office licenses - use LibreOffice for the occasional compatibility requirements).

    Prices have recently gone up, so not as good value as it used to be - but I'm still more than happy with G Suite.
     
    Simon Hampel, 4th Jun, 2019
    #2
  3. qak

    qak Well-Known Member

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    SaveonIT has Office 365 Business Premium for $189/year - business plan, TB storage
    GSuite Business pricing seems to be $201.60/year (monthly - maybe an annual plan works out cheaper?) - business plan, unlimited storage.

    I'm only familiar with MS Office products, and have some compatibility issues (with other software I use), so that choice was easy for me.

    I would be thinking about - what have you actually used or are you familiar with? What about other potential users - employees/contractors?
    Do you have time to learn new products?
    What components do you actually need to use?
     
    qak, 4th Jun, 2019
    #3
  4. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    I use both. I like G Suite for easy sharing and collaboration, but there are limitations on the capacity and some of the functions in sheets. These probably wouldn't affect 95% of users.

    The default storage in the free version of Google is 15GB, but apparently Docs and Sheets aren't counted. This article shows what things are included:
    How to free up Google Drive space

    MS Office is $A129 pa for the Home version. It includes 1TB of storage.
     
    geoffw, 4th Jun, 2019
    #4
  5. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Using the G-suite takes a while to get acquainted. Downloads are back to MS format iirc. Great for sharing across workgroups.

    I also use Office, comes with several licences. Access to one drive.
     
    Scott No Mates, 4th Jun, 2019
    #5
  6. Rolf Latham

    Rolf Latham Inciteful (sic) Staff Member Business Plus Member

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    one can do both

    Gsuite for mail and server in cloud

    MS product for work - even outlook

    ta
    rolf
     
    Rolf Latham, 4th Jun, 2019
    #6
  7. JasonC

    JasonC Well-Known Member

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    Someone pointed out to me the following section of the Google standard terms and services:
     
    Last edited: 4th Jun, 2019
    JasonC, 4th Jun, 2019
    #7
  8. JasonC

    JasonC Well-Known Member

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    Also you don’t mention what your side huddle is, but have a look into the Microsoft Action Pack subscription. If the terms are appropriate for your business it’s great value.

    For $400-500 a year you can get a 5 seat office365 subscription, a bunch of windows OS licenses and various other things (including $100 Azure credits per month).

    Regards,

    Jason
     
    JasonC, 4th Jun, 2019
    #8
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  9. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    There's nothing untoward in that, although I can see how anyone unfamiliar with how terms & services for websites work might be a bit alarmed.

    Basically - they are saying that if you upload a document in (for example) MS Word format, they may reformat it into Google Docs format for you to use and edit online.

    You may delete all of your files from Google Drive. It's only things like business entries in Google Maps which may continue on after you cease using G Suite - they aren't trying to keep your mail or docs.

    If you are at all concerned, get a lawyer to check out their T&Cs.
     
    Simon Hampel, 4th Jun, 2019
    #9