Technology never tried so hard to solve our everyday office issues as hard as it does now. From word documents, to presentations and spreadsheets, every day at work has a quick solution.
Spreadsheets: For Beginners To Pros
Microsoft Excel is one of the most used Office applications, and much of its usefulness comes from the formulas for calculating different data in order to create relevant reports. For those who have been using Excel since the Mesozoic computer times, formulas come naturally, as people are creatures of habit.
The problem is with the most recent users of spreadsheets — the ones trying to learn the ancient language of Excel formulas. And G Suite thought of them before anyone else. In order to make this task easier, the Google spreadsheets can employ formulas typed in natural language in an answer box on the top right corner of the sheet. This magic potentially solves all the calculations, so no need to remember those endless formulas, while making sure brackets are not missed at all.
Working somewhat in the opposite direction, Office 365 tries to align its software to the generic public, while also improving the formulas for the Excel aficionados.
As a power user, one can always create a perfect nested formula for the most specific reports. Earlier this year, Office announced six more Excel functions that received exceptional feedback from the niche. However, as the times require adapting, the program also improved the main functions to make it more intuitive for the generic audience.
Exploring Word Documents
G Suite thinks of constant ways of improving their usability and user experience, there's no secret here. Anything coming from Google has the same purpose of improved, high end experience.
That's why, constantly addressing a larger audience, Google Docs now has an Explore function, which works like an embedded search in the document, suggesting related topics or images and even pointing to other Docs in your drive. The feature is not only welcome, but it also helps create a better connection across platforms.
"We know that it's helpful to refer to other content when writing an analysis, summary or proposal. That's why we've also made it easy to find a related document from Drive or search Google, right in Explore. Less time spent switching between apps more time to polish your ideas," reads the Google Docs blog.
At the same time, Office Word 365 positions itself as a generic writing program whose core functions have been used through time. The 365 lacks the References and Mailings, and if a user has a specific editing needs, their options with Office 365 are not the best.
However, compared to the Docs counterpart, it has similar functionalities. It is in the end a matter of perspective: compared to the classic Office Word, Office Online has mere basic functionalities, Google Docs doesn't seem to offer a lot more, either.
If when it comes to Spreadsheets, Google is the clear winner. But the king of documents remains Office for one simple reason: the pretty interface that helps you create eye candy documents, however basic in nature.
Power, Always To The Point
The Google Slides' selling point is clearly the layout suggestion of the explore features, with the promise to "make your content shine."
"We've seen that people save over 30 percent of the time they would have spent on formatting when they use Explore. So even if design isn't your style, rest assured you'll have a beautiful presentation to be proud of. Instantly," Google Docs says.
Office focused on something visual, rather than pragmatic. With its Zoom feature allowing to create non-linear presentations, PowerPoint as it have been known has started to look like an improved Pro: always there to help users be astonishing. And, with its new app launcher, Office is going places.
Truth is, there is no clear winner and, depending on what a user is looking for in terms of reliability, design or saving some time, solutions differ. The good news is that there seems to be a fix for any office issues.
