14 DAY TRIAL // The Swedish data protection authority has concluded that Google Apps is unsafe for public institutions and, as such, bans the use of Google's cloud apps suite in such a setting.
The ruling [PDF] came after a small municipality tried to switch to Google Apps and faced resistance from further up the chain.
The Swedish Data Inspection Board found that there isn't enough information on how Google handles the data on its end, how long it keeps it after a contract is over, who gets access to it, what other companies are involved in the handling of the data, and so on.
Google has been trying to expand into enterprise for a few years now. The big gun in that is Google Apps, which includes Gmail, Docs, Calendar, and a slew of other tools all for a fixed monthly subscription.
The tricky part in getting companies to switch from their ancient systems and to the cloud is getting them to trust the cloud.
Running on Google's infrastructure comes with plenty of benefits for small and large companies, reliability, costs and speed being the main improvements. But, of course, that means having to run and store everything in the Google cloud.
Some companies aren't comfortable with that. It's hardly a Google-specific problem though, the same thing can be said about all cloud services.
Google believes its tools comply with local laws and is determined to fight this further. Public institutions, like local administration or schools, are a prime market for tools like Google's, which are cheaper than on-site alternatives.
However, there are concerns over whether Google is able to mine the data it stores. The data protection authorities don't believe Google presented enough insurance and transparency in this respect. The decision may be overturned though, as Google won't be letting go of this too soon.