Trust Microsoft more than Google: IT leaders

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 27 October 2009, 14:57 IST   |    18 Comments
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Trust Microsoft more than Google: IT leaders
Bangalore: In 2009, Google became more aggressive on expanding beyond web search in a bid to take on Microsoft. Now, Google is focusing more on business applications, which is a traditional Microsoft stronghold with Exchange on the server side and Microsoft Office on the client side. However, when it comes to putting their trust on the technology products, not many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are in favor of Google. Recently, TechRepublic polled a 90-member panel of U.S. IT executives and asked, "Who do they trust more as a technology partner, Microsoft or Google?" The jury - made up of the first 12 respondents - voted 8-4 in favor of Microsoft. Google is making the pitch to businesses that it can save them money, speed up deployments, and provide users with a simpler experience. However, the primary obstacle that Google has to overcome is to convince IT leaders to transfer company data from internal servers to the Google datacenters, with all of the security, privacy, and compliance risks that such a move entails, reports TechRepublic. The skeptical attitude towards Google was summed up by Donna Trivison, Director of IT for Ursuline College, who said, "There seems to be some conventional wisdom that Google is the answer to what's been wrong over the years in the Microsoft universe. That kind of thinking may be dangerous. As consumers of technology, we need to keep each and every business partner honest and working for us. Handing trust carte blanche over to Google because, as the wisdom goes, they are good citizens, seems misguided to me. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Microsoft because they have withstood the scrutiny their misdeeds have landed them. Google remains, for the most part, untested." When confronted with the Microsoft vs. Google question of trust, Lance Taylor Warren, CIO of H.A.W.C. Community Health Centers, said, "Neither. While some of the technology that Google has been releasing is intriguing, their track record of leaving things in 'beta' for years does not lead to a high level of confidence. Microsoft is Microsoft. If I had to pay full price for their products, I would have to give serious consideration to other solutions."