Microsoft vs Google - Requesting your feedback

[mikkydoos]

Hi all,

 

We're a Trust with mixed M365 and Google platforms.. however no chrome books or paid Google licenses... go figure !

 

I'm embarking on the process of proving that consolidating to one platform is best.... which in this case will be M365 due to equipment, licensing, percentage of users on each platform etc etc... but this isn't set in stone, however it has to be one or the other!

 

In order to support this I'd like to get a picture of what direction KS3+ academic institutions have gone with regard to M365 vs Google.

 

This will be a big help in me getting a national picture of trend to support my argument... whichever way it goes.

 

 

 

To all Edugeekers... please, would you mind submitting to this poll a response of what cloud platform you're committed to and why.

 

 

 

Big thanks to you all in advance

Edited January 9, 2025 by mikkydoos

[mavhc]

I use both, MS is still terrible at being online due to the complexity of their legacy stuff, onedrive barely works, online office can't view office files properly still, licencing and signing into MS is annoying etc. If people want to group edit files I'd suggest they use Google. Google Classroom is way better than MS's stuff

 

However MS does integrate better with Windows/Office than Google, so keep that for legacy stuff

[Rob_D]

We went office 365 because we'd already been using it for email for years and it was pretty simple to roll out new features and bits as they became useful/needed.

It seems to work fine for us. I can't say we've run into the issues that Mav mentions, but that maybe more due to the way it's used (most of our file sharing is done in-browser).

[Iain.Faulkner]

We're in the same position across our five schools. Although we're looking at using Microsoft 365 as our Primary cloud solution, we're not intending to get rid of Google Classroom, however, we want to make it authenticate using google. Reasons for keeping google ae for Google Classroom and also Chromebooks as they're such good devices and pretty cheap.

 

But a bit like you, we have lots of paid for things in Microsoft (including 365 backups and conditional access MFA), and we use it for email, which is why we've gone with it as our preferred solution.

[dmj]

Hi all,

 

We're a Trust with mixed M365 and Google platforms.. however no chrome books or paid Google licenses... go figure !

 

I'm embarking on the process of proving that consolidating to one platform is best.... which in this case will be M365 due to equipment, licensing, percentage of users on each platform etc etc... but this isn't set in stone, however it has to be one or the other!

 

You're citing reduced equipment costs with M365, at the same time saying you have no chromebooks ??

 

Can't you just let the teachers decide what they will use, it's not costing you anything if you've automated all your setups.

[mthomas08]

We use both but I was going to push for more M365 and walk away from Google.

 

With a MAT coming, we will go to whatever they choose which looking at MATs in our area and likely to take us on it's about 4-2 for M365. One in particular seems to be pure Google only and everything Microsoft gone.

 

Makes sense in sticking to one system for training purposes alone. One dept uses Google and another dept uses M365. Sometimes causes crossed wires - especially when people ask us for help.

 

Either way, as I said with us joining a MAT we go the way of the wind.

[msi_school]

I looked at the pros and cons about 4 years ago for a previous employer and basically it boiled down to the following points:

 

* Chromebooks need to be managed via Google

* Microsoft Office is the norm Google can deal with most office docs but not complex powerpoint or excel. it cant do access either but I think this is a plus

* Office 365 management follows a microsoft look and feel so I found it more intuative and it plugs in to local AD

* Some people hate Google mail, I have only seen people dislike Outlook

 

That trust decided to use Microsoft but they didnt have any Chromebooks my current trust uses Google both are perfectly usable and I would expect the education sector to stay about 50/50 with a number of institutiuons 5-10% runinng both for the next 5-10 years.

 

TLDR

It can become somewhat of a holy war like Vi vs Emacs but both are usable and can deliver good outcomes.

[Ditto]

I worked in a Free School which set it's stall out 100% Google and Chromebooks. It worked very well as the school grew, but once the school Oall-through) got to the point have about Year 9 pupils, M365 was added. I'd say the main reason was for the Computing curriculum.

 

Ultimately, I think you have to accept the learning teaching requirements, not purely from an IT ease point of view.

 

If you have Google (Workspace) and Chromebooks, not to manage the devices with a Google license is just daft.

Personally I liked the Google Admin, and found it far simpler the MS. But, the demand for M365 grew with time. There was always some need at an admin level, for MS software - I think it is still the case some exams admin software, but it is very much the exception.

 

Do I think a school can be Google/Chromebook only, all the way to 6th Form? Just about, but you need deep SLT commitment and the ability to find non-MS solutions for the teachers that have their favourite MS apps. I believe @rogerdnixon is in the school has got closest to that - but I think even there, there may be a little MS apps in place. Roger, perhaps you could enlighten this thread with your input?

 

*** Fixed typo that gave Roger a new surname! ***

Edited January 9, 2025 by Ditto

[PotNoodleTech]

Google is a way better teaching and learning platform and has way better admin management and is way easier to use for all users including us admins.

 

However

 

MS still has a stranglehold in many areas so we use both. In an ideal world I would be google only but we don't live in an ideal world and I still need M365 and several areas of the school which require PCS.

[TheHyperTechie]

Chrome wins for me. Some of the main reasons below.

 

1. Chromebooks are generally cheaper (brand new) compared to the latest Windows devices. We could buy 2 x student chromebooks for the price of 1 Microsoft Surface for a student.

 

2. Licensing is cheaper than Microsoft, £30 to manage a chromebook until it is EOL, in my experience this is normally around ~5 years. The actual chrome user license is free if you choose to stay on the fundamentals licensing tier.

 

3. Ease of management, takes me about 5 minutes from opening a chromebook box, asset tagging it, and enrolling it into our tenant, then its ready for the student/staff member to use. I have used Microsoft Intune in the past, and while it is also simple, Chromebooks just feel more streamlined.

 

4. This is another area where Google stands out for me. The integration of their programs such as Classroom, Drive, Docs, Slides, seems to perform better than Microsoft. Collaboration between students and teachers is much easier, therefore I feel that creates a stronger sense of connection and engagement for students within the system.

 

Just FYI, this my own opinion. I don't particularly think one is "better" than the other, just listing why we use and like Google.

[mavhc]

It's not that much work to support both really, users, passwords and groups sync, you can login from one to the other

[synaesthesia]

Explicitly Google here, with 365 in the background for some odds and sods (mostly licensing, Azure, Office suite etc).

 

Given the choice, I'd say 365 is the more mature system for a windows setup. I had a strong preference for 365 with a minor Google presence for managing chromebooks, but using 365 logins.

Classrooms is better than Teams by a long way - the fact that so much of 365 is bolted onto Sharepoint means it's still slow & clunky and file location/retrieval is poor. It does have benefits though from a management POV, such as admins being able to access client files easily.

365's administration is way above and beyond Google Admin IMHO in the way it makes more sense, options aren't as hidden away in obscure locations in the admin console and the OU structure is superior. Google has less clarity/distinction between device & users.

Security wise can go either way; 365 has more granular controls for MFA for example, even more so if you pay for it (conditional access etc) which isn't doable in Google, unless you go around the houses.

Google is too reliant on GAM command line control for my liking. Nearly everything in 365 is achievable in the UI with only rare exceptions, and powershell ability to do things in bulk as an option. Google doesn't give you the option.

Windows integration is, perhaps obviously, far superior with 365. Home drive mapping, redirection etc, however you run it locally or intune is much better. You can't do that with Google, the drive app is the only real convenience so you still usually need to provide some sort of "local" storage.

 

For me personally, with a windows estate 365 is the better choice overall. With a more prevalent Chromebook estate (I think to the point where staff use it too) then Google is an obvious preference.

[gszech]

Google - Main reason - security of the Google Admin and Chromebooks.

[Primus]

I worked in a Free School which set it's stall out 100% Google and Chromebooks. It worked very well as the school grew, but once the school Oall-through) got to the point have about Year 9 pupils, M365 was added. I'd say the main reason was for the Computing curriculum.

 

There's no requirement in the Computing/Computer Science curriculum for M365.

[dhicks]

We support ChromeOS, Windows, MacOS and iOS clients within our school. Teachers and office staff generally have Windows machines (which log in via Google credentials), with the Google Drive client installed so they can open / edit Microsoft Office files directly from Google Drive. However, a fair few users seem to be using the web-based Google Workspace utilities. Pupil devices are Chromebooks, which seems to be working very well - devices are owned by the school, they aren't taken home by the children, they are charged overnight in storage cabinets in classrooms. The ICT suite is iMacs, again logging in via Google credentials. We have a remote desktop server which can support both Windows (RDP) and Linux (VNC / SSH) targets, and a user-accesible password-reset utility that can change passwords on both Google and Microsoft platforms.

[Ditto]

There's no requirement in the Computing/Computer Science curriculum for M365.

Oh, I'm well aware of that, but the teachers that come in to the school often come with prior preferences. Largely, teachers are made to toe the line as there was SLT buy in to the Google platform, but in this instance, it led to a traditional IT suite of networked PCs and MS stack. Slightly off track, we had a new head of senior who would not learn Progresso - him being a SIMS dinosaur and a complete muppet. He lost that battle thank goodness. Progresso of course became EOL. Although I left over 5 years ago, I do know the went to Arbor, so that was a battle well fought!

[Ditto]

We support ChromeOS, Windows, MacOS and iOS clients within our school. Teachers and office staff generally have Windows machines (which log in via Google credentials), with the Google Drive client installed so they can open / edit Microsoft Office files directly from Google Drive. However, a fair few users seem to be using the web-based Google Workspace utilities. Pupil devices are Chromebooks, which seems to be working very well - devices are owned by the school, they aren't taken home by the children, they are charged overnight in storage cabinets in classrooms. The ICT suite is iMacs, again logging in via Google credentials. We have a remote desktop server which can support both Windows (RDP) and Linux (VNC / SSH) targets, and a user-accesible password-reset utility that can change passwords on both Google and Microsoft platforms.

Oh yes, the reminds me, we had a stack of Apple kit for the music department - Sibelius and other such stuff. I stay well clear of that! Actually, my role was Data manager, but I became the default Google Admin Manager, but the heavyweight networking and Apple stuff I left to a part time NM, who had help/hindrance from a founding governor - and yes I know that shouldn'y have been, and it was way worse than just that!

[rogerdnixon]

We are a decent sized MAT with 29 schools and soon 31 - mix or large secondaries down to small primaries. Use to be a disparate mess of different systems and now we are all on one Google Workspace setup with 10000's ChromeOS devices. This as other have already said has a number of advantages:

 

Easy to scale and manage.

We have Plus licences and this give us some security super powers - on a multi school setup I'd highly recommend them - not to mention the >0.5PTb or cloud storage.

ChromeOS devices are very quick to provision and other than physical damage require nothing after that.

The productivity tools are very powerful. Google Sheets and Appscript have built many powerful systems and automations for us removing the need for paid for third parties.

Collaboration is totally seamless across the organisation.

Security - Gmails security features are outstanding and very easy to manage.

Cool new stuff appears all the time - Google Vids being the latest hit with people.

 

We do have Windows devices - we use Google Advanced Desktop Security to manage theses - so keeping things all in one management console. As a result we do still need a backend O365 setup - but that's just to access volume licences and that's it.

 

I also teach (a little now), and the tools, especially Classroom are brilliant. We sync Workspace to our MIS's (Bromcom) directly - so users and Classes and so on are automatically made and updated with minimal effort.

 

However, you will find others who love O365 - so each to their own.

[mikkydoos]

You're citing reduced equipment costs with M365, at the same time saying you have no chromebooks ??

 

Can't you just let the teachers decide what they will use, it's not costing you anything if you've automated all your setups.

 

 

@dmj Not equipment cost.... utilisation of existing equipment.

[mikkydoos]

An advantage in my opinion of M365 is that students will be using (teacher quote) 'real-world tools'. e.g. When they go out out to work or uni, it's unlikely they'll be encountering Google.

 

I like Google and its pretty powerful and simpler to administer than M365, however its horrible to use and the interface is fugly and confusing, particularly for teachers.

[Primus]

An advantage in my opinion of M365 is that students will be using (teacher quote) 'real-world tools'. e.g. When they go out out to work or uni, it's unlikely they'll be encountering Google.

 

I like Google and its pretty powerful and simpler to administer than M365, however its horrible to use and the interface is fugly and confusing, particularly for teachers.

 

That's a somewhat dated view.

[mikkydoos]

That's a somewhat dated view.

 

It's subjective. Eye candy is important to users when trying to get them to take up tech IMO.

Edited January 10, 2025 by mikkydoos

[Primus]

It's subjective. Eye candy is important to users when trying to get them to take up tech IMO.

 

Whilst I did mean both parts it was particularly in response to "An advantage in my opinion of M365 is that students will be using (teacher quote) 'real-world tools'. e.g. When they go out out to work or uni, it's unlikely they'll be encountering Google"

 

I personally don't have an issue with the appearance of Google Workspace, in fact I've never heard anyone mention that they think it needs more "eye candy".

[PotNoodleTech]

An advantage in my opinion of M365 is that students will be using (teacher quote) 'real-world tools'. e.g. When they go out out to work or uni, it's unlikely they'll be encountering Google.

 

Hahah Are you serious?

 

There are fortune 500 companies out there with tens of thousands of empoyees using google and chromebooks every day.

 

By the way - you should be teaching skills, not software.

 

I like Google and its pretty powerful and simpler to administer than M365, however its horrible to use and the interface is fugly and confusing, particularly for teachers.

 

I am gobsmaked - I have never met a single person that didn't think google was waaaay easier to use than the absloute hot mess that is teams/sharepoint/etc

 

I still see corporate and educatiuon people struggling with teams meetings literally 5 years after we were all forced to use it in covid. Wheras we ran an entire school on google meet for 6 months with almost no training needed for staff or pupils one minute we were in school teaching as normal the next it was google meet on chromebooks 5 times a day.

[chazzy2501]

Looking at this reminds me that at one point I used to manage an exchange server! I had to update it every 3-5 years! Backup to tape!! Migrating to online exchange was a no brainer and office365 got put around it..