PwC to drop Office and Notes for Google Apps

Around 5,000 staff at PwC in Australia will move to Google Apps following an agreement that will also see both companies combine their expertise to sell cloud, mobile and security services to enterprises.

The professional services giant will trial Google Apps for Work products in December with 500 local staff before rolling it out across the entire organisation. These staff will use Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Hangouts, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Vault. The cloud-based collaboration platform is also being deployed across 45,000 seats at PwC in the United States.

These solutions are replacing Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office across the organisation, a PwC spokesperson told CIO Australia.

“We will take the lessons we learn from that as we transition everyone else over time,” the spokesperson said.

Also under the agreement PwC said it would use the Google Cloud Platform to build applications and mobile solutions for specific vertical markets.

PwC said it will also enhance its security practice by creating new solutions for its customers on the Google Platforms. It will build custom algorithms on the platforms to identify security threats, alerts clients of potential attacks, and prevent or mitigate risks.

“For our clients, acquiring the knowledge most important to their operations, securing that information and using it optimally are critical – now more than ever before,” said Luke Sayers, CEO at PwC Australia.

“PwC is teaming with Google to offer our joint knowledge and capabilities to clients – giving them one place to go, maximising experience and assets from both organisations,” he said.

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