The war between Google and Microsoft continues, with Office 365 doing battle with Apps in an effort to capture customers, both business and government. While Google seems to be getting Chromebook adoption in the education sector, Microsoft’s offerings tend to be favored by business — it’s a more familiar item to IT departments.
Now the government of North Carolina’s largest county, Mecklenburg, is adopting the service, but also plans to utilize Azure and equip employees with Surface Pro tablets (it does not specify Surface Pro 2).
“With the mobility factor of Surface Pro and Office 365, we are able to do so much more,” says Cliff DuPuy, Mecklenburg County’s technical services director in a new press release. “Not only do our Youth and Family Services folks love the devices for the flexibility and productivity the combination provides to them, but they appreciate the toughness of the devices, the touch aspects and the ability to document benefits while they are visiting clients”, he continues.
The county plans to purchase an Office 365 plan that will house 6,500 users and expects to have 1,000 Surfaces in use by August of this year. The budget department expects this move to save an overall $3.2 million for the county every year.
This is certainly not an end to this battle, but it does give Microsoft one more win and reason for Google to worry just a bit more, though it won’t be putting the search giant out of business.
Further reading: Office 365, Surface Pro
