Los Angeles Approves Google Apps Contract

In a significant endorsement for “cloud computing”—that is, the use of web-based applications and data stored on the servers of third parties, the city of Los Angeles recently opted to enter into a contract to use Google Apps for e-mail hosting, calendar, chatting and other office applications, CNET News reports.

Concerns over data privacy have been paramount in the city council’s debate over the contract with integration provider Computer Sciences Corp. As CNET blogger Elinor Mills pointed out in August, a city councilman and police official had each raised concerns “that sensitive police investigations could be compromised if data were exposed somehow under Google's control.”

Those concerns arose not long after an incident at Twitter, in which a hacker managed to access sensitive Twitter documents stored on Google Apps—an incident that, while not a reflection of Google Apps’ security, did open up a discussion about the security of the cloud computing service, according to Mills.

The Associated Press reports that the city’s deal is tentative and contingent upon Computer Sciences Corp.’s agreement to pay a preset penalty in the event of a security breach. According to the AP, more than a dozen other tech firms had bid on the contract with the nation’s second-largest city.

The trend toward cloud computing has been a problem for Microsoft, which staked its name on desktop operating systems and software, according to a tech analyst quoted by the AP. But it hasn’t been without its critics. The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s concerns over cloud computing precede the Los Angeles contract. Previously, they’d asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into Google Docs’ privacy and security safeguards. While citing EPIC’s complaint as a leading area of interest, the FTC has yet to come down on the issue, according to Patricia Resende on Toptechnews.com.

The benefits the Google contract poses to the city are tangible—according to the AP, the contract will save about $5 million in service costs over five years and allow the city to trim five positions from the city’s technology department.