Can a government competition for a contract specify Microsoft software and still be open? Google says no, and has sued the U.S. government.
In a lawsuit filed Friday with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in San Francisco, the search giant claims it was unfairly excluded from a contract to redo the Department of the Interior’s e-mail systems and provide collaboration software. Google wanted to propose its Google Apps suite, but said it was told that the project required Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite-Federal.
‘Arbitrary and Capricious’
The lawsuit was filed in conjunction with Google’s government-reselling partner, Onix Networking. Google said it has a version of Google Apps designed for government use that meets security requirements, but was told that security requirements were not being met.
The DOI is interested in replacing 13 messaging platforms it utilizes for 88,000 users. The contract is expected to be worth nearly $60 million over five years.
In its lawsuit, Mountain View, Calif.-based Google contended that the government’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” “unduly restrictive of competition,” and illegal in that it violates the Competition in Contracting Act. It said open competition could “save U.S. taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and result in better services.”
The suit asks that the DOI be prevented from continuing to receive bids unless it offers a more open competition. It says the DOI insisted it was conducting an open competition, even though it standardized on Microsoft’s software.
This legal battle can be seen as the latest front in the ongoing war between Microsoft and Google over productivity software. Microsoft’s Office suite has been the undisputed king of the desktop, but Google has countered with its Google Apps online suite. Recently, Microsoft has also offered online versions of Office.
‘Batter Down the Door’
Laura DiDio, an analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corp., said the Google lawsuit…