ARN

AAPT completes Gmail journey

1200 switched off Microsoft Exchange

Australian telco, AAPT, has switched the remainder of its 1200 staff off Microsoft's Exchange collaboration platform and onto Google's rival, Gmail, offering after running a trial of 250 staff on Gmail for the past two months.

The company had already adopted some aspects of Google's online platform late last year -- specifically, the search giant's Google Video and Sites applications.

“The decision for us to go Google was initially more of a challenge at the philosophical level – the idea of relinquishing ‘control’ - rather than the technical level,” AAPT chief operating officer, David Yuile, said.

“The benefits of moving to Google Apps are significant -- for individual users and for the company. We expect to reap considerable savings in IT costs, with minimal user support and much lower ongoing infrastructure costs,” he said.

AAPT's shift has also unlocked the use of Google's Talk instant messaging application. Staff will receive 25GB of mailbox storage each on Google's servers.

“This exciting move will help us address some of the challenges we face: information overload, changing business needs and new technology demands, such as increased mobility and flexible working,” Yuile said.

The potential to shift to a cloud-based platform such as Gmail or Microsoft's hosted Exchange offering has been a hot topic on Australian chief information officers' minds this year. Some have already made the switch. But one aspect holding some back is the lack of dedicated datacentres based in Australia for the services.

One large organisation earlier this year expressed how unlikely it was to "Go Google" as AAPT was. “If he imposes Google Docs on me, I’ll throw my laptop at him,” joked Telstra chief technology officer Hugh Bradlow earlier this year -- referring to then-Telstra CIO John McInerney.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: AAPT, AAPT, APT, Google, Microsoft, Telstra

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: aapt, gmail, microsoft exchange, Telstra
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Aquion , ASI Solutions , Avnet Technology Solutions , Bluechip Infotech , Compucon Computers , Dicker Data , Express Data , Express Online , ICT Distribution , Impact Systems Technology , Leader Computers , Multimedia Technology , NewLease , Synnex Australia , Topstar Computer International , VExpress Distribution , XiT Distribution , Xpress I.T.
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2010-12-09_354_polycom
Transition Systems Australia

Polycom

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.