Microsoft Snipes At Google Apps In Latest Ad

Microsoft can't seem to stop taking pot-shots at Google, and following the privacy-fear-flogging Gmail Man video comes an attack on the Office-rivaling Google Apps. The new video – which you can see after the cut – pits a sleazy Google Apps salesman against the enterprise market and, somewhat bizarrely, some soulful crooning about how we should fear the "Googlighting" man and the possibility that Google could simply pull the plug on features we're reliant on or, in fact, whole services.

Microsoft points to Google's track record of killing off other high-profile services, such as Google Wave and Buzz, and argues that cloud based software is a risk most businesses can't afford to take. Even if they stick around, the software company warns, the feature-set is very much a work-in-progress and users are being treated as alpha- or beta-testers. "Different, better, completely gone... who knows what the future holds for Google Apps" the video's character says.

You could well argue that Microsoft is increasingly feeling the heat from Google Apps, hence this advert; if the firm didn't have anything to worry about with Office sales, it might not feel the need to target its web-based rival. Ironically, Microsoft has a cloud Office service of its own, in the shape of the consumer-focused Office 365.

So, are you convinced by Microsoft's video, or does it feel like opportunism and taking cheap shots? Let us know in the comments.