New York City signs up for Microsoft's cloud
The Bloomberg administration will consolidate 45 separate Microsoft contracts into one $20 million multi-agency deal that will feature many cloud computing functions.
This morning, October 20, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled a comprehensive technology partnership to modernize the City’s IT infrastructure, anchored by a major investment in cloud computing.
The initiative will save New York City millions of dollars in coming years while improving citizen services and centralizing technology resources across more than 100 City agencies.
As part of the project, 30,000 New York City workers will move to the cloud and begin accessing communications and collaboration tools hosted in a Microsoft datacenter facility.
For Microsoft partners this means that proficiency in Microsoft Technologies and developing applications that work with Windows Azure and Office 365 (the new name for Microsoft BPOS) should be even more of a priority.
Video of the announcement is available here.
Bill Zack