AAPT wants to ditch Outlook for Gmail
AAPT boss Paul Broad said the telco is almost certain to ditch Microsoft Outlook for Google Gmail for its 1300 staff within the next month.
"We're 95 per cent certain we're going go down this track," Broad told ZDNet Australia yesterday of the company's plans to adopt the new email system.
BlackBerry-less Paul Broad (Credit: AAPT)
The Telecom New Zealand subsidiary commenced a trial with 50 initial users, including Broad, in March under the guidance of its chief information officer David Yuile. That number has now reached 100 and is growing, according to the company.
Yuile had flagged a company-wide move to Google Apps in November last year, but steered clear of Gmail at the time.
The company is set to make the move to Gmail prior to its next earnings update, which is to be held by Telecom New Zealand on 7 May.
Most Australian deployments to date have been at local councils or universities, and even there, typically for students. Mortgage Choice, for example, ditched IBM's Lotus Notes for Gmail, but only for its lenders. Large Gmail deployments include the NSW Department of Education and Training, Macquarie University and the University of Adelaide.
Broad brushed aside any security concerns, saying that using Gmail for AAPT's corporate email would be no more a security risk than if it were to use its own infrastructure to host its email.
"Your systems can be hacked into today. Life is no guarantee. We've done all the security checks, and we ultimately know what the risks are. We've dealt with that and we believe it is as secure as we have got today," he said.
AAPT will also be selling Gmail to mid-sized Australian companies and providing technical support.
"We will bring the product to them, and we will de-risk it as much as possible," he said.