Microsoft faces the first formidable threat in years to its desktop domination from Google Apps, and it's taking the threat seriously. The proof? A scathing statement the company issued Monday in response to Capgemini's announcement that it will offer Google Apps through its desktop outsourcing service.

Microsoft's statement covers eight questions it says companies should consider before choosing Google Apps, even after both Capgemini and Google executives haves stressed that they're not looking to outright replace Microsoft Office desktops. Rather, they're looking to put in Google Apps where it "makes sense." That includes organizations where employees don't have their own personal computers, or rely heavily on mobile devices.

They've also suggested that some companies might want to deploy Google Apps alongside Microsoft Office. Capgemini is trying to walk a tightrope of neutrality since it already offers Microsoft Office through its desktop outsourcing service.

Microsoft says that when considering Google Apps, companies should question the actual number of users Google has "within the enterprise." It also points to Google's history of releasing "incomplete products, calling them beta software," and says that desktop costs will rise for companies trying to offer both Microsoft Office and Google Apps.

Microsoft takes shots at Google's primary focus on ad-funded search -- even as it looks to expand into that area. It also criticizes features lacking in Google Apps, such as support for headers, footers, tables of content, and footnotes, and says it's not appropriate for "power users." That's something Capgemini and Google agree on, too.

Microsoft says companies should be concerned about how they would meet government regulations and standards for data management if data within Google Apps is hosted on Google servers. But this argument could apply to any company that's hosting software for customers -- something that Microsoft does, too, with its Dynamics enterprise apps. And Microsoft criticized Google's limited technical support hours: certainly a potential problem if you don't go through Capgemini or some other service organization that has expanded technical support hours.

In sum, Microsoft makes some good points about Google Apps, including ones neither Capgemini nor Google would argue with. But its response underlies something else neither Capgemini or Google appear willing to own up to: in many cases, business going to Google through Capgemini's desktop outsourcing service would have otherwise gone to Microsoft.