LA Approves $7.2 Million Google Apps Deal

The Los Angeles City Council voted today to begin using email service from Google, making it the largest city in the nation to do so. This is a big thumbs up for Google as they try to become a software provider to the world’s cities and businesses. Council members eventually voted 12-0 to approve the $7.25-million contract that would move all 30,000 city employees to Google’s so-called cloud over the coming year.

Before the vote, several council members had voiced objections to the contract, including whether the city would see any real cost savings, as Google had contended, and when the new system would be ready to store data from law enforcement, where security standards are more rigorous. Because Los Angeles will be among the earliest adopters of the Google system, council members expressed concern that the city might be signing on before Google’s cloud system was fully proven.

[ Read Full Article at LA Times ]