Microsoft - Will it ever modernize?

[Note, I wrote this entry in 2017, but never published it.  I think it still applies today.]

A few years ago, I convinced my employer to make the jump to Google mail.  We used it for our office email, as well as Google Drive.  It was part of an overall attempt to move much of our infrastructure into the cloud and to make it so our employees could do their work on any device, including very cheap ones.  

Unfortunately, Google never quite lived up to the demands of the Enterprise.  While Gmail itself was great, Google Docs never got robust enough to replace MS Office.  Google Drive just started to develop its storage to support a centrally managed enterprise, but that was too little, too late for our firm.

Instead, our technology committee decided to dump Google and move to Microsoft as the "industry standard."  Although I objected to the change, I did not realize how badly it would set us back.

Microsoft claims it is moving to the cloud, but in many ways it is the same old system it was twenty years ago.  There are cloud version of MS Office, but they are really no more robust than Google docs.  They lack many of the advanced features found in the locally installed version of MS Office.  Similarly, there is a web version of Outlook.  But as we discovered after some use, to make full use of Outlook's features, you need to install the old software version of the product on your PC.

The result of this change was that computers that were adequate for use in our Google days, now seemed hopelessly under powered.  In addition to paying more for Microsoft's 365 solution than we paid for Google's G Suite, we also found we had to make a six figure investment in new desktops and laptops to handle the increased computing demands.

Another huge disappointment was SharePoint Online.  The rest of the world uses HTML for sharing documents.  Microsoft, however, seems happy with its proprietary SharePoint system, that seems very difficult to learn and which requires special software to publish.  Unlike Google Sites, which made it easy to set up our company intranet, SharePoint required that we hire a specialist to design a new site for us.

I was also simply amazed at how backward Microsoft was in terms of search. It's Outlook search engine is guilty of malpractice.   I've run test searches looking for messages that I already know contain certain terms, and search does not find them.  It also seems to bring up messages that do not meet my search specifications.  I also miss the document search on Google Drive.

I have asked myself why Microsoft continues to dominate the Enterprise Market.  Part of it is legacy.  Large enterprises who have invested heavily in hardware, software, and training, are loathe to change.  Part of it is the fact that Microsoft dominates the market and people fear being non-standard.  But a big part of it seems to be to be Microsoft's business strategy.  Google seems content with putting out a good product and waiting for people to find it.  By contrast, Microsoft markets their products heavily to third party consultants and support companies (Microsoft calls them "partners").  These companies advise enterprises to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem where they can continue to provide the much needed support and training for staff.  

Sadly, this use of marketing influence rather than having a quality product seems to work.  Microsoft seems to rake it in.  Google, of course, makes most of its money from consumer use and advertising.  I suspect it loses money on its enterprise business.  

I still use Google almost exclusively at home.  As a user I find it has no equal. But I keep my money invested in Microsoft stock.  If that company does anything well, it's extracting money from its customers.