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A deal announced yesterday between Google and systems integrator Capgemini has Microsoft reacting with fear today. Google’s agreement puts them one large step closer to challenging the dominance of Office which is one of Microsoft’s two core revenue products.
The announcement was phrased in a press release from Paris based Capgemini reading in part,
Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, today announced services supporting the adoption of Google Apps Premier Edition by large-scale enterprises. By partnering with Google, Capgemini extends its portfolio of desktop solutions, enabling it to support more client employees, regardless of their locations, platforms and roles.
Delivered as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution over the Internet via a Web browser, Google Apps Premier Edition - which includes Docs & Spreadsheats, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Start Page - provides powerful collaboration and communications applications for a low annual fee.
The agreement between Google and Capgemini marks the first serious competition Microsoft Office has faced since Corel bought (and subsequently broke) the WordPerfect suite in 1996. This for Microsoft is an enormous cause for concern as licensing of their core product can run into hundreds of dollars per unit where a Google Apps Premier Edition costs $50 per license.
