In 2025, enterprises are realizing the challenges and costs of operating in the traditional desktop-based Microsoft environment. From complex licensing to security overloads, Microsoft 365 is a bottleneck for enterprises looking for business agility, improved collaboration, and simplified IT management.

With its host of cloud-native tools, Google Workspace is the perfect alternative, delivering AI-enabled productivity and robust security. Here are some key statistics for Google Workspace in 2025:

• Google Workspace has a 95% rating in customer satisfaction and an annual growth rate of 1%.
• With a 50.34% market share in office productivity tools, Google Workspace is ahead of MS 365 (with a share of 45.46%).
• 70% of Google Workspace users access its tools using their mobile phones.
• According to the 2024 IDC MarketScape report, Google Workspace is the market leader in AI-powered and cloud-based solutions.

What’s driving the current transition from Microsoft to Google Workspace? Here’s a deeper insight.

Strategic rationale behind the Microsoft-Google Workspace transition – 4 factors

Here’s what Google Workspace delivers as a value proposition that differentiates it from Office 365:

1. Real-time collaboration
   With its cloud-first approach, Google Workspace delivers seamless, intuitive real-time collaboration as compared to Office 365. Built on a cloud-native design, Google Workspace enables simultaneous editing across built-in tools, including Google Docs and Slides. 
   While Microsoft has improved co-authoring capabilities in Office 365, it continues to suffer from version conflicts (in certain instances). Comparatively, Google Workspace enables real-time teamwork with automatic file saving, no version conflicts, and link-based sharing.
2. AI integration
   AI is now regarded as an essential part of any office productivity tool. In the case of Google Workspace, the integrated Gemini tool provides an accurate contextual understanding across applications, including Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Meet. This means improved content analysis, which allows better summarizations, intelligent recommendations, and cross-document insights.
   Comparatively, Microsoft’s Copilot AI is designed for MS Excel models and Windows workflows. Tightly integrated with Windows’ desktop environment, Microsoft’s AI tool is ideal for lightweight content creation and context awareness.
3. Pricing model
   While Microsoft offers more pricing options, it’s also more complex with its multiple licensing options. Comparatively, Google Workspace’s pricing model is predictable based on the number of users. Google’s cloud infrastructure also lowers IT overhead costs for enterprises, while also making it easy to scale for fast-growing SMEs. Besides the usage costs, Google Workspace offers more data storage for the same cost. 
4. Enterprise security
   MS Office 365 and Google Workspace offer strong security features to enterprises. While Office 365 provides strict user authentication and verification, Google Workspace features comprehensive security features like zero-trust cloud architecture and anti-phishing.
   Google Workspace also includes advanced data loss prevention, which can be customized by administrators. Both these tools are compliant with HIPAA and GDPR. In comparison, MS 365 requires more administrator oversight, while Google Workspace features simplified admin controls.

Conclusion

With its “cloud-first” approach, Google Workspace can fulfil a range of business needs, including real-time collaboration, mobility, and business scalability. These are some of the reasons why enterprises need to “detangle” from legacy tools like Office 365.

In our latest eBook titled “Detangling from Microsoft with Google Workspace: A blueprint for modern collaboration,” you can gain deeper insights into how Agentic AI can accelerate this transition.

If you want to learn more, download this eBook now.