Microsoft and Google provide myriad popular tools for Web surfers and consumers. Lately, both tech mammoths are also gunning to serve small businesses online. Microsoft Office Live and Google Apps (formerly Google Apps for Your Domain) let you design company Web pages and collaborate with chosen colleagues.
Unfortunately if you're a fan of Firefox or Macs, most Microsoft Office Live functions work only with Internet Explorer and may require Windows 2000 or later versions. Google's services, on the other hand, are compatible with Mozilla-based browsers and Internet Explorer, as well as with Macs and Linux machines.
Microsoft is giving away domain names for free, which otherwise cost around $10 from a third party. Via Office Live, you can park and keep www.yoursite.com at no cost, which is superior to using some lengthy URL embedded within Microsoft's corporate domain. However, in return, Microsoft slaps the Office Live logo onto your Web pages.
Google doesn't provide free personalized Web site registration and hosting, although you can reserve a free but clunky URL through Google Page Creator beta. Basically, this lets you display your company's name and logo (rather than Google's) within Google Calendar and Gmail. Thus, customers can e-mail you at, say, owner@yourbiz.com, and you can open the messages within your customized Gmail interface. In addition, you can choose to tailor Google Apps to work with a Web site that you've already reserved, or reserve a URL through Google's partnership with GoDaddy
Google Apps is free for 2GB of storage, or $50 for a Premier edition with 10GB of storage, shared calendars, and telephone support. Microsoft Office Live Basics is free, but it has expanded, paid services, too. There's no calendar or instant messaging within the free edition, for example, while Google Apps connects to the beta Google Calendar and Google Talk. If you're serious about managing a small-business site with Office Live, you can pay for a calendar as well as 19 other business applications.
Microsoft doesn't wrap a built-in online Word processor with their small-business packs, which is odd given Microsoft's corner on the productivity tool market. Google Apps, on the other hand offers the Web-based Writely and Spreadsheets, but it's far from becoming a viable competitor to Microsoft Office. And we find it strange that Google Apps makes no mention of Google Checkout, which lets you set up a shop on your Web site.
Office Live is available at http://officelive.microsoft.com. You can access Google Apps at https://www.google.com/a/.
| |
Microsoft Office Live Basics |
Google Apps |
| Compatibility |
Internet Explorer 5.5; Windows 2000 |
Internet Explorer 5.5, Firefox, Safari, Netscape 7.1; Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Domain name registration |
Free |
No |
| Web site storage space |
30MB, 10MB bandwidth free, unlimited number of pages |
100MB through Google Page Creator |
| Web site traffic analysis |
Yes |
No |
| E-mail |
Office Live Mail, 5 e-mail accounts, with 2GB of storage each |
Multiple accounts through Gmail, with 2.8 GB of storage each |
| Chat |
No |
Google Talk |
| Calendar |
Not included with Basics; available with paid Office Live Essentials or Collaboration |
Google Calendar |
| Web page design |
Built-in Site Designer with thousands of customizable, industry-specific templates |
Google Page Creator |
| Privacy and Security |
Privacy
policy; must enable cookies |
Privacy policies of each app; must enable cookies |
| Customer support |
E-mail |
Searchable knowledge base, forums |
| Paid versions |
20 business applications and 24-hour phone support with Office Live Essentials or Collaboration; $29.95 and up per month after beta |
No |
Read the CNET editor's take
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