14 DAY TRIAL // Google has been working hard to make its Google Apps suite a viable alternative for businesses wanting to ditch their legacy software and platforms.
Google's cloud service promises to be cheaper and more stable than traditional on-site products.
One of Google's biggest success stories with Apps has been the deal with the city of Los Angeles to move its 30,000 employees over to Google Apps for email and other services.
But things haven't been going great, to date, two years after the deal was signed, Google has only moved 17,000 people to Apps.
The reason for this is that the LAPD and other groups that handle sensitive data such as criminal records haven't been satisfied with the security of the Google Apps suite, according to a letter from Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin which has surfaced now.
"CSC indicated it is unable to meet the security requirements of the City and Los Angeles Police Department for all data and information pursuant to the U.S. Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJISS) policy requirements," the letter reads.
CSC is the contractor that is in charge of deploying Google Apps for Los Angeles. Because of the snag, the contract has had to be updated, since the city has had to continue to use and pay for its existing system, provided by Novell.
But it is important to note where this letter and its analysis is coming from, namely Consumer Watchdog, a privacy 'advocacy' group that has targeted Google almost exclusively in the past, often on very flimsy or speculative 'evidence.'
The group is backed by Microsoft which, as you may assume, has a big interest in Google Apps not being seen as an alternative to its office and email software and services.
Google said as much in its response to this whole controversy citing it as "the latest in a long list of press stunts from a group [Consumer Watchdog] that admits to working closely with our competitors....Indeed, the City recently renewed their Google Apps contract for 17,000 employees, and the project is expected to save Los Angeles taxpayers millions of dollars."