by Vlad Ienceanu, Sentinel Enterprise Architect and Innovation

Introduction 

In the competitive environment of education, individual productivity of staff and overall preparedness of students to enter the workforce can be impacted by their experiences with professional tools. While leading providers Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both offer a number of quality applications and features, many organizations are acknowledging that utilizing Microsoft tools better prepares students for success either in the workforce or at the next level of education. Here are five primary reasons why.

Top 5 Benefits 

• Familiarity: One of the top reasons for switching to Microsoft 365 is its familiarity. Microsoft Office has been an industry standard for decades, and people who are proficient in applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have a competitive advantage when entering the workplace. Businesses enjoy the benefit of this familiarity when hiring because it helps reduce the learning curve experienced by newly hired employees as they begin their career. 
  
• Affordability: Many organizations have not proceeded with Microsoft due to perceived prohibitive costs. Microsoft has addressed this through the Student-Use Benefit program, where students may benefit from faculty licensing. As an example, students have a 40:1 usability ratio per Microsoft 365 A3. This means if a teacher is licensed for Microsoft 365 A3, there is an accompanied student benefit of up to 40 Microsoft 365 A3 licenses available for student use.  
  
• Features and Functionality: Microsoft offers more features and functionality than Google Workspace, especially in terms of collaboration, security, and accessibility. For example, Microsoft Teams allows users to chat, call, meet, and share files in one integrated platform, while Google Meet and Chat are separate applications. Microsoft 365 also provides more advanced security options, such as data loss prevention, advanced threat protection, and identity and access management.  
  
• Device Management: Google Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions provide limited functionality. One limiting feature is that it can only deploy apps from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Your application provider would need to ensure the ability to certify the App to provide support. Performing bulk updates to hundreds or thousands of devices is not possible. Integration with SIS systems is limited, and device wipes for non-Chromebooks requires additional licensing features.   
  
• Enhanced Security Features: Microsoft provides Defender for Endpoint enhanced security features for the day-to-day tasks faced by many administrators and teachers. With Defender for endpoint, a school can protect their faculty and student devices through the student use benefit.  
  

Conclusion 

Microsoft 365 is a superior choice for education than Google Workspace, as it offers more familiarity, affordability, and features than ever before to educators and students. By switching to Microsoft 365, institutions can enhance their productivity, efficiency, and security, as well as prepare their students for future success in the workplace. 

Sentinel can help your educational institution with the transition process from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, or can simply assist with the establishment and integration of Microsoft 365 with your environment and users. Contact us or your Sentinel Account Manager today to start the conversation!