Microsoft: Windows is superior to Android for government and education needs

A new white paper compares Android and Windows devices for use in the public sector and education. It looks at four areas it considers critical -- ease of use, security, productivity and lifecycle -- and finds Windows devices to be the "superior choice".

The paper says there are "significant challenges and issues with Android" and that Windows devices "offer better security and utility, enabling new usage models AND more productive users, while giving IT flexible deployment options to evolve the existing infrastructure and in some cases even produce savings as no new processes need to be developed". But since the white paper comes from Microsoft, those findings are unsurprising.

Obvious bias aside, the paper -- which discusses the penetration of tablets in the public sector and the challenges facing organizations as they evolve their IT infrastructure -- makes some good points.

Microsoft highlights the fact that Google and OEMs do not go back and update all older versions of Android (and devices) with security patches and fixes, and even if they did, "there is no common, streamlined way to get those updates out to the install base of Android devices".

It also says the "hackable nature of Android continues to leave big potential security holes", and the ability to run apps from anywhere makes it vulnerable to malware.

Pushing Windows devices as the far better choice, Microsoft (naturally) mentions Office and lists the following benefits:

• An engaging, first-in-class user experience and familiar software tools that are ubiquitous in the workplace.
• Wide choice of manufacturers, form factors, styles, and price points for every need;
• A seamless experience across devices, allowing users to collaborate, store and share their work through SkyDrive/SkyDrive Pro from any web-capable device, sharing apps and settings for a single user across multiple devices.

The white paper also includes a table summarizing the comparison between Android and Windows based devices and how they map to the government and educational customer needs:

In a blog post to go with the white paper, the Microsoft Education Team says:

The meteoric rise of Android-based tablets in the consumer space, driven mainly by accessible prices points, made many people explore if such devices could be leveraged for Government and Education programs. Android-based tablets have a lot of obvious appeal considering low acquisition costs against tight public budgets. Yet, are there better choices out there?

Yes -- Apple has some products that might fit…

It’s interesting that Microsoft has chosen to target Android with this white paper. Presumably because it’s the easier target. The mobile OS does have potential (and well documented) security issues after all.

The white paper is available to read here.

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