Google Apps, the search giant's solution that is often regarded as a powerful alternative for Microsoft Office, managed to lure no more than 100.000 organizations to its services. As you might know, Google Apps bundles several Google products such as Gmail, Docs & Spreadsheets, Calendar and many others. Google Apps is currently available in several flavors for both individual and enterprise users. In comparison with Microsoft's Office, Google Apps has two big advantages: first of all, it is accessible from an online interface. This allows users to connect to the product from numerous locations and store their files straight on the Google servers. Then, Google Apps is available for free, offering some of the best functions included in the suite.

"More than 100,000 organizations large and small have started using Google Apps to deliver powerful services to employees, students and members, and since there's no hardware or software to install or maintain, getting up and running is a snap. We're we hearing great stories from users, and we're getting exciting feedback from journalists, analysts and other industry experts," Jeremy Milo, Product Marketing Manager, said today.

Of course, it's very difficult to make a comparison between the two solutions because Google is rather an online company while Microsoft is based on the offline software products. However, PC World released The 100 Best Products of 2007 and placed Google Apps Premier Edition on the first position. "Google is much more than just a search engine, and with its invaluable Google Apps suite, the company is well on its way to challenging Microsoft for productivity-suite supremacy. Google's Docs & Spreadsheets (soon to be joined by a PowerPoint-esque presentation application) already makes for an interesting alternative to Microsoft Office," PC World said in the description of the leader.

Microsoft Office received a shocking 56th position that shows us that the Redmond-based company can be easily challenged if you're able to build a powerful solution. Google Apps is the best example that the users are always attracted by the product that offers the most efficient functions.