Cloud Computing on Ulitzer

Rentokil Initial, an odd combination of a modern-day charwoman who in her off-hours is a courier service, exterminator, insurance adjuster, heating and air conditioning installer and water and electrical tester, has gone with Google Apps, expecting to be the largest deployment of its paid Premier Edition yet.

The cloud widgetry will replace Rentokil’s 180 e-mail domains and 40 mail systems – everything from open source to Microsoft – as it rolls out to 35,000 employees in 50 countries and six operating divisions by the end of next year.

The UK-based conglomerate called it part of a “five year turnaround plan to enhance capability and introduce operational excellence” ands said the decision was less about saving money than “creating capability.”

The widgetry will go to 20,000 desk-bound PC users and 15,000 mobile folk who currently don’t have a company e-mail address. They are expected to use PDAs, home computers or shared PCs at their branch office.

The company also expects to use Google’s integrated chat and video features to support training and improve productivity and collaboration within and between divisions and functions. And it’s got a real use for Google’s automatic e-mail translation and the real-time translation in Google Talk.

Rentokil ran a 100-day pilot at its Ambius office plants division that involved 800 users in global locations.

Google Apps includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites. The Premier Edition, which includes 25GB of e-mail storage, usually runs $50 (40 euros or 33 pounds) a year per head. Terms were not disclosed.