Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) has generated approximately $60 billion in annual
revenue since 2008. You would think the bulk of that money comes directly from
its Windows operating system. Even as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) warps the computing
industry through its massively popular mobile operating system Android and now
on PCs with the Chrome platform, Microsofts Windows still is running on more
machines than any other platform. Until last year, however, Windows was a
distant second place among the companys divisions. The real money at Microsoft
has been in the $18 billion-per-year Business Division . That divisions
breadwinner is Microsoft Office the collection of apps and services like
Microsoft Word, Excel and others that are common fixtures in every corner of
modern life. Google has made some headway into Microsofts office tools
territory. Beginning in 2006 with Gmail For Your Domain, a service that let
businesses use Googles email service for their operations, Google Apps has
blossomed into the industrys most viable Microsoft Office competitor. Google
offers a full range of tools Google Docs, Google Calendar, etc. through the
web rather than as downloadable or disc-based tools like Office, and information
is stored in the cloud on Googles servers. These days, Microsoft is pushing hard
to offer the same range of services through the cloud-based Office 365 . While
its unclear how many Google Apps users pay the $50 per year for the full range
of services, more and more business are turning to it instead of Microsofts
products. The InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG ) switched over to Google
Apps this year, as did the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
the Wyoming state government. Google Apps head Dave Girouard told The New York
Times on Sunday that 5,000 businesses sign up for Google Apps every day.
Microsoft is undisturbed, though. Since it released in June 2010, Microsoft
Office 2010 alone has seen more than 100 million licenses sold . Office is more
than a successful product it is, for many people, equal with the technology.
People dont use word processors, they use Word. What can Google do to turn its
office tools business into a real threat to Microsoft? Heres three ways Google
can challenge Microsoft Office:
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