"Boston drops Microsoft for Gmail" by Michael B. Farrell | Globe Staff, May 10, 2013
Boston has dropped its longstanding e-mail system, Microsoft Exchange, for Google Apps, the search giant’s suite of software for businesses and government, following the lead of a growing number of big cities, federal agencies, and large companies that have made the switch.
Even though Mayor Thomas M. Menino has resisted writing — or even reading — e-mails, banned voicemail from City Hall until recently, and can’t find his way around an iPhone, he has certainly made technology a major focus of his administration. He renamed a section of South Boston the Innovation District, and has personally wooed technology companies to move there, adopted a number of computer tools and mobile apps to improve public services, and his police officers are even tweeting crime updates....
It’s not just the gee whiz factor: It’s also a matter of money. It will cost Boston around $800,000 to move over to Gmail, Google Docs for word processing, and Google’s cloud service for storing documents. But by dropping some Microsoft products, the city government will save at least $280,000 a year.
“The number one reason that organizations are going to Google is price,” said Matt Cain, an analyst at the tech research firm Gartner Inc.....
Let the NSA open and read it.
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