Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office

Google may pose strongest long-term threat to Microsoft's dominance

Google Apps or Microsoft Office? That is the question on the minds of many CIOs today.

Microsoft has long dominated the e-mail, collaboration and office tools market, and its customer list dwarfs that of Google and all other competitors. But despite the presence of well-established alternatives such as OpenOffice and IBM's Lotus Notes, some industry analysts believe Google may pose the strongest long-term threat to Microsoft's office dominance.

"Google is still a wannabe, but they're Google so this is a very strong challenger," says Laura DiDio, lead analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corp (ITIC).