Every few months a client asks us whether they should be on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. It's one of the most consequential technology decisions a small business makes — it affects every employee, every day, and migrating between platforms is expensive and disruptive.
We've deployed and managed both platforms for hundreds of Alberta businesses. Here's our honest, unsponsored take.
The Quick Answer (If You're Short on Time)
Choose Microsoft 365 if: You have legacy Windows software dependencies, your industry uses Office file formats extensively, you need robust on-premise integration, or your team is already Microsoft-trained.
Choose Google Workspace if: Your team is highly mobile, you prioritize real-time collaboration above all else, your industry runs primarily in a browser, or you're a startup starting fresh without legacy IT.
The honest truth: For most Alberta SMBs, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the right choice — primarily because of the security tools bundled in the Premium tier, not because the productivity apps are better.
Now here's the detailed breakdown.
Email: Near Parity, With Edge Cases
Microsoft Exchange (Outlook): The gold standard for enterprise email. Outlook is feature-rich, deeply integrated with Microsoft's ecosystem, and the default expectation in professional services, legal, financial, and government-adjacent industries. Outlook rules, categories, and the desktop app's offline capability are genuinely better than Gmail for power users.
Gmail (Google Workspace): Faster search (Google invented search, after all), cleaner mobile app, and excellent spam filtering. The web interface is snappier than Outlook on the web. For users who live in a browser and do high-volume email, Gmail often wins on user experience.
Alberta business reality: Most Alberta professional services clients — law firms, accounting firms, engineering consultancies — have clients who expect Word documents and Outlook calendar invites. Gmail's smart compose features don't offset the friction of incompatible file formats in these industries.
Collaboration: Google Has the Edge in Real-Time, Microsoft Is Catching Up
This is where the comparison was most lopsided three years ago. Google Docs pioneered real-time multi-user editing. You can see your colleague's cursor moving through a document in real time. It's seamless.
Microsoft has largely closed this gap with co-authoring in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint via Microsoft 365. It's not quite as smooth as Google Docs, but it's genuinely good now — particularly if users are accessing documents through the web browser versions of Office apps.
Where Google still leads: Google Sheets handles very large, formula-heavy spreadsheets more gracefully in a browser. Google Slides is faster to load and share for simple presentations.
Where Microsoft leads: Excel remains the definitive tool for complex financial modelling, pivot tables, and data analysis. Power Query, Power Pivot, and the depth of Excel's formula library are unmatched by Google Sheets. For the CFO building a 5-year financial model or the operations manager running complex inventory analysis, there's no substitute.
Video Conferencing: Teams vs. Meet
Microsoft Teams has become the dominant video conferencing tool in enterprise Canada. If your clients and partners are on Teams, your integration is seamless — sharing screens, transferring files, and inviting external parties all work without friction.
Google Meet is excellent for simplicity — click a link, you're in a call. No app required, very reliable video quality.
The difference: Teams is a platform (chat, file storage, video, project management, integrations) that many Alberta businesses are using as their primary collaboration hub. If you're on Microsoft 365, Teams is your intranet, your chat tool, and your meeting room. That integration value is real.
Security: Microsoft 365 Business Premium Wins Clearly
This is where the comparison gets decisive for businesses that take security seriously.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($26 CAD/user/month) includes:
- Microsoft Defender for Business (endpoint detection and response)
- Microsoft Intune (mobile device management)
- Azure Active Directory Premium P1 (conditional access, MFA enforcement)
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (anti-phishing, safe links, safe attachments)
- Azure Information Protection (document classification and protection)
- Microsoft Purview (data loss prevention)
Google Workspace Business Plus ($26 USD/user/month) has strong security features but doesn't include an endpoint detection and response solution, device management at the same depth, or the integrated SIEM capability of Microsoft Sentinel.
For industries handling sensitive client data — healthcare, legal, financial services, HR consulting — Microsoft 365 Business Premium's security bundle is often worth the platform choice on its own.
Storage and File Management
Microsoft 365: 1TB OneDrive storage per user, plus SharePoint for team file storage. SharePoint is powerful and deeply integrated with Teams and Office apps, but it has a learning curve — many businesses don't use it effectively without IT guidance.
Google Workspace: 2TB pooled storage per user (Business Standard), with Google Drive as the file repository. Google Drive's sharing model is simpler to grasp intuitively, and access management is cleaner for most users.
For businesses with complex file sharing requirements and active SharePoint usage, Microsoft's approach is more powerful. For businesses that want simple, it-just-works file sharing, Google Drive is easier.
Pricing Comparison (CAD, 2025)
| Plan | Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace | |------|---------------|-----------------| | Entry | Business Basic: $7/user/mo | Business Starter: $8/user/mo | | Mid | Business Standard: $15/user/mo | Business Standard: $16/user/mo | | Premium | Business Premium: $26/user/mo | Business Plus: $26 USD/user/mo |
Pricing is comparable at each tier. The value calculation is about what's included, not the price itself.
Migration Considerations
If you're currently on one platform and considering switching, understand what you're taking on:
Migrating from Google to Microsoft: Email migration is straightforward with Microsoft's tools. The harder part is re-training users who've built muscle memory around Google's interface, and migrating Google Docs/Sheets/Slides files to Office formats (some formatting doesn't survive perfectly).
Migrating from Microsoft to Google: Same challenges in reverse. Excel files with complex formulas and macros often have significant compatibility issues in Google Sheets. Users who rely heavily on Outlook rules and calendar features find Gmail's feature set frustrating.
Our honest advice: Don't switch unless you have a compelling reason. The disruption, retraining cost, and risk of a migration usually outweigh the marginal gains of switching platforms when your team is already productive on one.
The Verdict for Alberta Businesses
For most Alberta SMBs:
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If you have 10+ employees and handle sensitive client data: Microsoft 365 Business Premium. The security bundle justifies the platform choice.
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If you're a tech-forward startup with remote-first culture and no legacy dependencies: Either platform works; Google Workspace may offer a smoother initial experience.
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If you're in professional services with government or enterprise clients: Microsoft 365. Your clients expect it.
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If you have one or two employees using basic email and documents: Either platform. Cost won't differ meaningfully; pick what you know.
Whatever you choose, the configuration matters more than the platform. A poorly configured Microsoft 365 tenant is less secure and less productive than a well-configured one. Cleva IT sets up and manages both platforms for Alberta businesses — contact us if you'd like a configuration review of your existing tenant or help choosing the right fit.