Google takes Microsoft's biggest customer away
MICROSOFT'S BIGGEST single client worldwide has been stolen away by the search engine outfit Google.
The NSW Department of Education, with1.3 million users, has taken Google's free email product.
The NSW Director-General of Education, Michael Coutts-Trotter said students and teachers, will each receive customised Gmail accounts.
The contract was so big that Google were prepared to put together a world-class package of services, he said.
It is fairly clear that the Vole could not compete on price. Previously it cost the NSW government $30 million to run on Voleware. This deal will cost just $9.5 million.
Although Gmail is free, there are significant costs associated with providing tight security and integrating the email system with the department's existing portal. ยต
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Microsoft seriously needs to be cut down to size, so anything that bites into its market share is good in my book.
Now I can only hope that Ballmer is not going to swoop in on Microsoft's private jet to ink a new deal that'll only cost $8 million - since he does just about anything to keep MS customers in bondage.
Now they should move to Open Office.
The article says it will be Googles biggest single client, not Microsofts?
"since he does just about anything to keep MS customers in bondage."

How would offering someone a better deal equate to keeping them in "bondage"? You should have just said "Grrr me hates Micro$oft$$$$.". It would have required less typing.
As a gmail user I have to say that the system is rife with usability issues and bugs. I hope this means that Google will be fixing some of these issues... Best of luck to the Aussies, sometimes you get what you pay for.
Maybe they implemented "groundbreaking" special features for the NSW Department of Education version like *sub-string searches* in email. Imagine that! Being able to use the most fundamentally simple searching ability in an email client, let alone one made by a search engine company.
Good step..., another nice chunk off of Microsoft's strangle hold on users/companies.
Plus, for the most part Gmail incorporates all the necessary features for generic day to day communications and will incorporate more features based on customer demand as they pick up more corporate customers.
I'm not a fan of Hotmail, but Gmail ain't any better. I've used it few times but only keep an account active to reserve my name. The GUI is so bad that I feel I'm back in the 90s using free email services.
At 1.3 M users, the NSW DoE is nowhere close to being MS's biggest customer. The US DoD brings more than 4M users to the table on MS products.