Google want 'fair go' in procurement contract

The procurement of a Microsoft email system by a government department has been temporarily stopped by a US court.

Scheduled to be awarded towards the end of January, Google has won a preliminary injunction to halt the procurement process, pending further investigation.

The company claimed in the United States Court of Federal Claims that is did not have a fair chance to compete for the contract.   

The US Department of the Interior had planned to begin a project to migrate about 80,000 employees to a new email system which was part of a contract worth around US$49 million.

Google obtained the injunction because, according to the court, it was in the public interest; Google would be harmed if the procurement went ahead; and there was the likelihood of success based on the case’ merits.

“Without a preliminary injunction, the award will achieve ‘organisational lock-in’ for Microsoft, and cost Google the opportunity to compete,” the court said.

A Google spokeswoman said: “As a proponent of open competition on the Internet and in the technology sector in general, we’re pleased with the court’s decision.”

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