Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace — which is right for your Yorkshire business?

Choosing between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace is one of the most consequential IT decisions a growing Yorkshire business will make. It shapes how your team collaborates, where your files live, how secure your data is, and how easily you'll integrate with other software for the next decade.

Both platforms are excellent. But they're not equivalent - and the right answer for a manufacturer in Sheffield is rarely the same as the right answer for a digital agency in Leeds or a solicitor's practice in Doncaster.

Here's an honest comparison from a Yorkshire-based IT provider that supports clients on both.

The headline summary

Microsoft 365 is the deeper, more enterprise-ready platform - particularly strong for desktop productivity, regulated industries, finance teams, and organisations with complex compliance requirements. It's the default for most established Yorkshire businesses.

Google Workspace is the lighter, browser-first platform - particularly strong for fast-moving teams, real-time collaboration, and businesses that have always lived in a web browser. It's a popular choice for startups and creative agencies.

Apps and productivity

Microsoft 365 gives you the full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook - the same applications most Yorkshire office workers have used for twenty years. Excel in particular is still in a class of its own for finance, operations and analysis work, and is non-negotiable for many accountancy, manufacturing and professional services firms.

Google Workspace gives you Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail - fully web-based, beautifully collaborative, and lighter on system resources. Real-time co-editing is baked into everything and just works. For teams that already operate in a browser-first way, it's a joy to use. For teams that need heavy spreadsheet modelling, it can feel limiting.

Email, calendar and meetings

Microsoft 365 uses Outlook and Exchange Online - the gold standard for business email, with deep calendar features, shared mailboxes, and tight integration with Teams for chat, video calls and telephony.

Google Workspace uses Gmail and Google Meet. Email search is exceptional, the interface is fast, and Meet is a solid video conferencing tool. Telephony integrations exist but are less mature than the Microsoft Teams + VoIP ecosystem.

Security and compliance

This is often the deciding factor for Yorkshire businesses in regulated sectors.

Microsoft 365 offers an enormous range of security and compliance tools - Microsoft Defender, Purview data loss prevention, sensitivity labels, conditional access, retention policies, eDiscovery, and detailed audit logs. For solicitors, accountants, healthcare providers and financial services firms, the Microsoft compliance stack is hard to beat.

Google Workspace has solid baseline security, strong anti-phishing, and good admin controls - but the deeper compliance tooling is generally a step behind Microsoft, particularly for sectors with strict regulatory frameworks.

Both platforms can support Cyber Essentials certification when configured properly.

Pricing

Per-user pricing between the two is broadly comparable at the entry level, but Microsoft 365 Business Premium typically wins on overall value because it bundles in advanced security (Defender, Intune device management, conditional access) that costs significantly extra on Google Workspace.

The honest truth: for most Yorkshire SMEs we work with, Microsoft 365 Business Premium ends up cheaper once you've added comparable security to a Google Workspace plan.

Integration with the rest of your stack

Microsoft 365 integrates deeply with Windows, Active Directory / Entra ID, line-of-business software, ERP systems, accounting packages, and the Power Platform for low-code automation. If your business relies on Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, Salesforce, or industry-specific software, Microsoft 365 is almost always the smoother fit.

Google Workspace integrates beautifully with the wider Google ecosystem, web-first SaaS tools, and modern collaboration platforms.

So which should your Yorkshire business choose?

Choose Microsoft 365 if you're in a regulated sector, rely heavily on Excel or Outlook, run Windows devices, or need enterprise-grade security and compliance. This covers the majority of established Yorkshire businesses.

Choose Google Workspace if you're a digital-first, browser-first team that prizes real-time collaboration above deep desktop functionality, and your compliance requirements are light.

Get expert help with the migration

Whichever way you go, the migration is the bit that can hurt - and that's where a local partner matters. Jibba Jabba has migrated dozens of Yorkshire businesses to and between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Learn more about our Cloud solutions, see how it fits into a fully managed package on our Managed IT Support page, or explore Cyber Security services to keep your new platform locked down. Get in touch when you're ready to plan the move.