Google, Microsoft, and Apple: Who鈥檚 winning?
The giants of technology are at it again.
鈥淣ine years ago with Google Docs, we saw an opportunity to build something that would enable people to work together in new ways. Fast forward to today and ,鈥� wrote Rich Rao, head of global sales for Google, on Monday. A bright blue ad appears at the bottom of Mr. Rao鈥檚 post: 鈥淪witch to Google Apps now and don鈥檛 double pay.鈥澛�
The blog post is not the first in a quiet campaign against Google鈥檚 biggest corporate office competitor: Microsoft. The mega-giants of the tech world have been at it for decades.
But this is one of the first times Google has directly sought out Microsoft鈥檚 clients. The application it鈥檚 offering is exclusively for corporate users already subscribed to , which charges its clients between $5 and $13 a month. Google is offering users the chance to subscribe to its product for free.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a new way of working,鈥� Rao adds, 鈥淎nd we think that once you see Docs and the rest of Google Apps for Work in action, you鈥檒l never want to go back. We want to help you experience it now, even if you鈥檙e locked into an existing EA.鈥�
This comes at nearly the same time that Microsoft has announced the release of its shiny new and highly anticipated Surface Pro 4 鈥� Microsoft鈥檚 first-ever 鈥渓aptop.鈥�
An evolved version of its tablet, the Surface Pro 4 is a laptop by day and a tablet by night. Apple鈥檚 already taken the stage with its . Samsung has its Google its .
The Google-Apple debate has pretty much been raging since the inception of the companies. But, after Apple won the driver鈥檚 seat (its market capital is more than $670 billion more than the other two), Google versus Microsoft has become a more relevant competition.聽
According to Forbes鈥檚 Gordon Kelly, 鈥�, Google the old Microsoft.鈥� Earlier this year, Google鈥檚 market share dipped to its lowest point in seven years. Apple is as the world鈥檚 most valuable brand, with a market capital at $741.8 billion. Microsoft is number two at . And Google is shuffling in third at .
Google, Apple and Microsoft have been childhood rivals since birth. When Apple developed the iPhone, Google shot back with the Android. (Microsoft fell behind with its less popular Lumia.) When Apple introduced the iPad, Google came out with the Nexus, and Microsoft with the Surface Book. As Om Malik wrote in The New Yorker: 鈥� are like Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukranian brothers who have, for the past decade, made the heavyweight boxing championship a very boring family affair.鈥�
Nor does the 鈥渂oxing championship鈥� look like it鈥檒l be ending anytime soon. Reviews for Microsoft鈥檚 Surface Pro 4 came as soon as the product was released on Wednesday morning, and .
No one has reviewed Google鈥檚 new app to replace Microsoft 365 yet.
