In an effort to lead the way in the creation of cloud computing applications, Google managed to swing a deal with the Los Angeles city council to provide cloud-based email services for all of the city’s 30,000 employees. However, there appears to be a snag in the implementation plan, as LAPD’s CIO Maggie Goodrich has expressed concerns over security protocols that have not been met by Google, which the department needs to protect sensitive police data. According to Goodrich, the conditions needed were set out from the beginning. Google just hasn’t delivered. Now past the June 30th deadline, the city is paying not only for the new, incomplete system, but also for the old system it has yet to migrate from. Although Google has agreed to pay the extra cost of the old system until November of this year, the cost could still run as much as an additional $400k over the next year.
It’s a shame that it has to come to this, considering the heated competition that Microsoft presented when the issue came to their attention last year. Despite their best efforts, the city council went the with cloud option that Google presented. Google now claims that they didn’t quite catch all the details in the requirements for the contract. So, this is your tax dollars at work, L.A.! What do you think of the Google pie-in-the-sky email debacle? Sounds to me like the city council should consider rescinding the agreement and offering Microsoft a go at it. After all, it doesn’t sound like things could get any worse.
Oh, and while you’re considering what you think, check out this promo video that Google is currently displaying on their government apps site:
