According to statistics released by Microsoft, around 77% of US Macintosh users have some form of Office application installed. They don’t however, specify exactly what these users have installed. Some, like myself, may have the full Office 2007 suite, while others only have Microsoft Messenger.

A recent poll conducted by SmokingApple’s suggests (from 420 votes) that only 16% of their readers primarily use Microsoft Office. Compared to the 34% that opt for iWork as their first choice. 182 of their readers however, mostly use iWork but still have Office installed. This is most probably due to compatibility issue’s with employment or schools and colleges, despite the conversion process being quite simple.

So why is there a clear line between iWork and Office? Is it because the majority of Mac users switched from the Windows PC but are so familiar with Office that they’d prefer to stick with it? Is it because their job requires them to use Microsoft Office? It’s always been a great suite of applications but after using iWork for a few weeks now, I doubt I’ll be relying on Microsoft for much longer.

There’s nothing wrong with Microsoft Office; it does everything most users to and being so popular, transferring files between computers and users is easy. Both iWork and Office do the same job, but its the way that they reach the end results that puts them apart.

Office. It’s a place of work and for many people, boredom. People complain about being stuck in their office all day. So Microsoft Office? It sounds professional, hard working and to the point. For a lot of the time, it’s what people are after. Something to finish the article, extend their spreadsheets. But it only does the tasks. There’s no alternative ways or nice designs to play with. You can spot an Office design template a mile away, so people generally avoid them. Up until Office ‘07, the design of the programs was very simple. Everything was there where you expected it. Nothing flashy, but it covered the job. Office ‘07 first brought slight confusion, with obvious tasks like ’save as…’ and ‘open’ hidden behind the Office logo. The new design that came with ‘07 gave a fresh look but was quite different to the previous layout, meaning users felt disorientated upon the first few uses.

iWork. Apple is known as the more playful between the two. Their highly popular TV adverts show the monotone life of the PC, compared to the vibrant world of Mac. Obviously there’s no avoiding the “office” scenario, but Apple’s take is a little easier to get by with. Their built in template designs are usable in most cases. They look professional and polished and can offer a good starting base for a document. The most needed tools such as fonts and formatting are all in front of you, with the most obscure features within the Inspector tab. While PC users may take a while to get this, the Inspector is used throughout Apple software housing most of the options relating to the current task, meaning everything that you might need is in one place. The new full screen option in iWork ‘09 offers distraction-free writing, allowing to you finish your work quicker and more efficiently. The option to upload work to iWork.com gives users a choice to connect easily and quickly between collaborated projects. While this service may be expensive and limited to iWork ‘09 users, the option is still present.

As I previously said, they both do the  job well. But iWork’s finish and polish towards the applications design, templates and small but useful features gives it the edge over Microsoft’s Office. Add into the mix that iWork ‘09 is considerably cheaper than the professional version of its counterpart, iWork seems the obvious choice for any Apple Mac user.

Have you had experience of using both platforms? Which has the edge for your own personal and work needs?