<p>Microsoft has created a series of ads over the last couple of years specifically targeting Google services such as Gmail and Google Drive. They're well-made snippets that highlight the weaknesses of Google's ad-supported, cloud-first approach to productivity, which stands in contrast to Microsoft's service-driven app model, exemplified by the popular Microsoft Office.</p><p>The fact that Microsoft is making these ads at all, though, shows just how nervous the company is about Google encroaching on its territory. Which appears to be exactly what's happening, according to a report from The New York Times.</p><p>While Google Apps have been the go-to productivity suite for smaller companies, they're now spreading to the enterprise with big names such as the U.S. Interior Department and Hoffmann-La Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, signing on. In addition, for federal government contracts that both Google and Microsoft competed for in 2012, Google won 23 to Microsoft's 10, the report says.</p><p>The big factor at play is price. Google charges just $50 a year for each person using Google Apps (disclosure: Mashable uses it) whereas Microsoft's alternative, Office 365, starts at $72. That number tends to be higher in many use cases, however, particularly if you want local apps that aren't strictly tied to the cloud. For a business to "subscribe" to Word, Excel, PowerPoint et al., it costs $150 a year for each employee.</p><p><a href="http://mashable.com/2012/12/26/google-apps-microsoft-office-2/">Keep reading...</a></p>