Google, RingCentral team up to compete against Microsoft
Google is teaming up with RingCentral, which offers cloud communication and collaboration applications, to compete more directly against Microsoft's enterprise business.
RingCentral on Wednesday announced a new integrated offering called RingCentral Office Google Edition, aimed at helping mid to large-sized enterprises transition to the cloud. For $30 per user per month, customers get Google Apps Unlimited with unlimited storage and a new edition of RingCentral Office that integrates with Google Apps and Google Hangouts.
"This solution will provide richer and more robust enterprise communication compared to competing industry solutions, such as Office 365 and Skype for Business," RingCentral said in a release.
Google has been working to enhance its enterprise offerings, recently announcing an A.I.-powered search tool for businesses called Springboard, but still lags behind Microsoft. In February, Gartner reported that globally, 8.5 percent of public companies were using Office 365 for email services, while 4.7 percent were using Google Apps for Work.