Google sues U.S. Dept. of Interior re. cloud RFQ

By Richi Jennings. November 2, 2010.

Unleash the lawyers! Looks like we have a DOI SaaS MSFT M&C RFQ GOOG conflict... Google is suing the Department of the Interior, claiming that a Request for Quotation was unfair. The company says that the RFQ -- for cloud-based messaging and collaboration services -- was written to favor Microsoft. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers don't seem entirely surprised.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention a ludicrously geeky, talent-show joke...
(GOOG) (MSFT)

Mike Masnick reports:

Google has sued the US government ... for not seriously considering Google Apps when it put out a Request for Quotation ... to handle its messaging needs. ... The RFQ ... stated upfront ... that the solution had to be part of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Google ... [says] this is "unduly restrictive of competition," and it seems like they've got a decent argument there.
...
The DOI justified limiting its offerings to Microsoft, by saying that Microsoft had two things that other solution providers did not: unified/consolidated email and "enhanced security." ... Google protested the RFQ when it was released, but the GAO dismissed Google's protest.

John Paczkowski adds:

Google ... and its government-reselling partner Onix Networking have filed suit against the Department of the Interior claiming they’ve been excluded from bidding ... to provide email and collaboration technology to the department’s 88,000 employees.
...
“Significantly, the SOW (statement of work) and even certain terminology were closely aligned with Microsoft’s product literature,” ... Google said in its complaint. ... The company argues that’s “unduly restrictive of competition,” and is “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and otherwise contrary to the law.”

 
Casey Johnston follows the money:

Its Request for Quotes (RFQ), a document asking companies to design a solution and quote the department a price ... restricted the candidates to using the Microsoft suite only. ... Such a restriction is akin to putting money directly in Microsoft's pocket.
...
 The 37-page filing details several volleys between Google and the DOI ... Google points out that Microsoft products still have downtime issues and makes a case for its own Google Apps as a suitable alternative.

Greg Sterling brings chapter and verse:

Google is ... saying that this decision violates the federal “Competition in Contracting Act” (CICA). Here’s a short summary: ...

CICA requires that contracts be entered into after ‘full and open competition through the use of competitive procedures’ unless certain circumstances exist that would permit agencies to use noncompetitive procedures.

There are a number of circumstances ... where exceptions exist. The question before the court will be whether the Interior Department’s behavior fell within an exception to the statute.

Thomas Claburn has a long memory:

This the second time in recent months that Google has allegedly run into this problem. The company made similar claims informally following the State of California's decision to award a hosted e-mail contract to Microsoft. ... California officials denied Google's claims that the state's process was unfair.
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The DOI's ... CTO, William Corrington, allegedly told Google representatives that ... "There would be no opportunity for Google to compete because its product was not compliant with DOI's security requirements."

Ben Parr is prescient:

This is about precedent just as much as it is about money; if Google doesn’t challenge the DOI on this issue, future RFQs from other departments might have similar requirements. ... Google can’t afford to cede these markets because somebody else’s products are entrenched.

Meanwhile, Marshall Kirkpatrick scratches his head:

The [DOI] justified its preference for Microsoft in part because of the company's "enhanced security," but it was Google's first version of Google Apps for Government that became this summer the first cloud solution to win the Federal government's Federal Information Security Management Act certification.
...
The [DOI], meanwhile, has long had security problems of its own. Its highest leaders have been ruled in contempt of federal court multiple times for failing to account for and reconcile hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Native American land trust documents, most recently in 2001.

 
And Finally...
Ludicrously geeky, talent-show joke
 
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.

You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.