It’s been just over a year since GSA transitioned to Google’s cloud-based email platform, and to date the agency has realized a cost saving of $2 million dollars. As the first large federal agency to adopt cloud-based email, GSA is leading the way and serving as a best practices model for other government agencies. In fact, early estimates show that GSA will save $15 million in costs over the next five years.
We’ve also seen nearly a 90-percent reduction in server energy consumption and 85 percent reduction in related carbon emissions. And we expect the cost savings from this reduction in energy to be about $285,000 annually.
Lastly, migrating to a cloud based IT system has vastly improved our ability to operate during times of national emergency. Shortly after GSA’s migration to the new platform, Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern seaboard causing serious damage across a wide area of the country. Workers at GSA’s Office of Emergency Response and Recovery used Google sites to quickly set up a Hurricane Irene homepage for employees to share essential emergency response information.
It has been a remarkable year for GSA and bringing cloud IT solutions to government. We have been at the forefront of implementing cloud services, and we’ve proven that they work to save taxpayer dollars, conserve energy, eliminate waste, and improve efficiency.
Note: This post can also be found at The GSA Blog.
