Microsoft continues to beat Google in battle of the enterprise apps

A new survey from identity platform Okta shows that 67 percent of knowledge workers prefer Microsoft Word over Google Docs, while only 15 percent report the opposite.

Another 16 percent identify Google Docs as a top-three most frustrating app. When it comes to email, 49 percent prefer Microsoft Outlook over Gmail, while 35 percent report the opposite.

The study also looks at the fastest growing apps, where security and collaboration dominate. The top five are KnowBe4 (with 178 percent growth), LastPass (132 percent), ProofPoint (122 percent), Jamf Pro SAML (120 percent) and Zoom (107 percent).

Security apps take the top three spots which demonstrates an area of concern for business. According to an independent Okta survey of 1,200 knowledge workers from companies of various sizes, nearly 40 percent recycle the same two to four passwords for almost every account. Even worse, 26 percent of respondents write down their passwords on a sticky note or piece of paper, 10 percent write it in a note app on their phone, and seven percent have shared their credentials with other colleagues.

The results show enterprises waking up to multi-factor authentication. 70 percent of companies are using between two and four different factors for authentication (up from 65 percent last year), and those factors are increasingly secure (71 percent of customers have added Okta Verify, 44 percent have added Google Authenticator, 15 percent have added Yubikey, and five percent have added Duo).

Todd McKinnon, Okta's CEO, writing on the company's blog says, "Our data and survey results show that as technology becomes embedded into every aspect of a business, “digital transformation” has become the status quo: organizations are increasingly turning to new apps, solutions and tools to keep their workforce moving in harmony. Companies will continue seeking tools that help them keep pace -- and by embracing flexible and customized solutions, we can create the most productive and secure workforce yet."

The full report is available from the Okta website.

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