LA to Go with Google Apps on Condition . . .

The switch is supposed to save the city about $5 million in service costs over five years

Oct. 31, 2009 11:45 PM

The city of Los Angeles has okayed a $7.2 million deal with CSC to rip out a lot of its existing Novell GroupWise e-mail systems and whatnot and replace it with Google Apps provided CSC agrees to pay a pre-set penalty if there's a security breach. They still need to dicker about that according to the AP.

The city pushed off the decision when the cloud started having a string of problems and the cops and the City Attorney's Office are worried about data security.

The councilman who introduced the penalty amendment is quoted as saying, "It's unclear to me whether we're on the cutting edge or if we're on the edge of a cliff about to step off."

Novell offered free upgrades but couldn't save the deal. Microsoft and others tried for the contract too. Failure to win it is seen as a black eye for Microsoft and showcase site for Google. LA says it's sticking with Office.

The switch to Google Apps is supposed to save the city about $5 million in service costs over five years. The District of Columbia is also making the migratory trek.

Published Oct. 31, 2009— Reads 925 — Feedback 1
Copyright © 2009 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.

About Maureen O'Gara
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.

Latest Cloud Developer Stories

The Intersection of Data Virtualization and Enterprise Data Warehouses

By Robert Eve

Large enterprises and government agencies are drowning in data. IT teams deploy a myriad of data warehouse-centric solutions – BI, predictive analytics, data and content mining, portals and dashboards – to harness and deliver data for intelligent decision-making. Yet, large enter...

The Five Layers within Cloud Computing

By Ernest de Leon

As a preface to the series of articles I will be writing on the Value Proposition and Business Cases for Cloud Computing, I wanted to discuss the layers below and within the cloud. It is important to understand what each of the layers is composed of, what the intended function of...

The Next Sea Change Is Cloud Computing

By Yeshim Deniz

I've been at this 35 years and I've seen sea changes come and go. If you step back for a moment and look from a broad perspective, we've lived through the mainframeclient/server world and the Internet world. And now, the next sea change is cloud computing. The reality is that vis...

Cloud Expo New York Call for Papers Deadline December 15

By Jeremy Geelan

Cloud computing is a game changer. The cloud is disrupting traditional software and hardware business models by disrupting how IT service gets delivered. Entrepreneurial opportunities abound as this classic disruptive technology begins to proliferate, so it is no surprise that SY...

Cloud Expo New York Show Prospectus Mailed to More Than 100 Exhibitors

By Carmen Gonzalez

SYS-CON Events (http://events.sys-con.com) announced today that the "show prospectus" for the 5th International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo (www.CloudComputingExpo.com) is now shipping. 5th International Cloud Expo will take place April 19-21, 2010, at the Jacob Javits C...