Google drops US government lawsuit after it considers Google Apps

WEB SERVICES PROVIDER Google has dropped its lawsuit against the US government after it announced that Google Apps should have been in the running for a $49.3m contract.

Last year the US Department of Interior announced it would move to a cloud-based software suite but would only consider Microsoft products and services. Google sued the government claiming, not surprisingly, that the constrained selection process did not foster competition.

Google asked the government to update its market research in regards to Google Apps and its eligibility to serve the Department of Interior. Once the department had updated its market research, which acknowledged new developments in Google Apps, Google moved for dismissal of its lawsuit. The US Federal Claims Court duly dismissed Google's lawsuit.

While the US government said it will now consider Google Apps in its procurement process, it is something of a hollow victory for Google. The Department of Interior has already scrapped the $49.3m project altogether.

For Google the victory should mean that other US government departments will need to consider its products during software selection processes. Many observers have commented about Microsoft's strong hold on federal and state government procurement policies, claiming that limiting them to a few cherry picked vendors could deliver poor value for money for taxpayers.

There's no doubt Google's actions were self-serving, after all Google Apps is a vital part of its enterprise strategy, however it might help other firms try to break into lucrative government procurements. µ